What Do Batteries Do to the Environment If Not Properly Recycled?
In many ways, we live in a battery-driven society. From our cell phones, laptops and other electronic devices to children's toys and cars, modern life runs on batteries. But they're not just used in consumer goods. When storms knock out the power grid, batteries keep hospital equipment working and trains running. If you have a landline, you can still make and receive calls because batteries power the phone lines. But batteries can seriously damage the environment—and human health—if not disposed of properly. How Batteries Work Before the battery was invented, power generation required a direct connection with a source of electricity. That's because electricity cannot be stored. Batteries work by converting chemical energy into electrical energy. The opposite ends of a battery—the anode and the cathode—create an electrical circuit with the help of chemicals called electrolytes that send electrical energy to a device such as a cell phone when the device is plugged into t...