The Co-op Food Stores of New Hampshire and Vermont

Question of the Week for September 19: If the Co-op provides alkaline battery recycling for shoppers, who should bear the cost—the shopper who participates or the Co-op as a whole?

A Sampling of Member Answers

• The shopper. When each item bears its full cost, only then will consumers understand the consequences of the choices they make.

• I think that the coop as a whole should bear the cost. Putting the cost back on the shopper does not encourage recycling. However there should be some sort of limitation on the number of batteries and perhaps you need to be a member if you are recyling more than a certain number……when you get above a certain number, i could support a charge.

• We spent a long time discussing this. The answer we came up with is YES, we would be willing to pay for our own battery recycling, but we would love for the cost to be hurried into something else. If we had to pay per battery, even nominally, we would be more likely to keep them in a box in our garage.

• Need more information: I’ve always been told it was safe to throw alkaline batteries in the trash. What actually happens to the “recycled” batteries? Does any of the material actually get reused?

• I know that NiCad and most other rechargeable batteries are hazardous. Our town (Thetford) has periodic hazardous waste drop-offs for stuff like that. There is often a small fee, which I don’t mind paying.

• Without having some idea of the monetary cost involved and the environmental cost of having these items in landfills it is a difficult question to answer. I imagine it would be more effective and easier if the coop as a whole bore the cost, but I’d like to know what that really means.

• Alkaline batteries can be recycled a number of places. Why is the Co-op doing this???? Just focus on high quality, fresh FOOD.

• Hmmm. That’s a tough one. I have no idea how much it costs to recycle a battery. As long as the cost isn’t too expensive, it would be great if the Co-op could subsidize the cost somewhat. For example, the shopper pays 10 cents and the Co-op pays 5 cents per battery. I think Co-op shoppers won’t balk at paying a small fee since we tend to be environmentally minded.

• The Co-op as a whole for members, with a fee for non-members.

• I believe that the manufacturer should bear the cost.

• It would depend upon the cost and the time involved with recycling batteries. Maybe if it’s a bag we can buy, take home, fill it with used batteries, and then when it’s full bring it back and drop it off, for a good price, then it would be both easy and cost effective for the consumer and the Co-op.

• I wouldn’t want the Co-op to eat the cost, though I imagine it would come out in the cost of groceries. At the same time, I have no idea what it costs to recycle batteries, but if the price isn’t low enough I think more people will forego recycling them and they will end up in landfills (as I’m sure a lot of them do now).