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By Sophie Saibi, TAE Silicon Valley INTL Branch, California Planning ahead and informing neighbors Before collecting batteries, I reached out to the people in my neighborhood and informed them about the 1MB campaign in a brief email. We planned to collect the batteries over 2 days during the weekend: the first day to walk around and talk to neighbors to raise awareness and collect batteries, leaving flyers if no one was at home; come back the second day for the remaining pickup. In retrospect, this also made it easier to transport the batteries in 2 batches -- they can get really heavy! Going door to door  by Joshua Lou, Cypress, California Promoting the idea of running a school event I brought my idea of running a 2-week battery recycling event to our school’s Environmental Conservation Organization (ECO) club and immediately received positive feedback from the board and club advisor. The idea of battery recycling was so straightforward and relatable to everyone that it was very easy to pass the message and get the ball rolling. The first response from many people including our principal and assistant principal was “what a wonderful idea!” So never be afraid to reach out to propose the idea! Distributing the battery collection buckets to each homeroom  ECO club volunteers with the principal and assistant principal on the first day of the event by Katelyn Gan, Irvine, California In early December, I designed my flier and assembled lots of battery buckets. I set several buckets across Irvine in senior apartments and libraries, and everyone was extremely enthusiastic to help! My first bucket was full just two weeks after first placing it at Luxaira. When I received the text that the bucket was full, I was extremely shocked that it was Luxaira. I kept thinking that I had remembered the address wrong because I thought this location had the least possibility of succeeding.   by Amelia Halverson, Ottawa, Canada
If you are planning a battery collection event in your school or at your community, collection boxes would come handy. In some regions, it is possible to ask for official battery collection bins from hazardous waste collection centers or recycling centres. Do not worry if official bins are not available. You can easily make your own using shipping boxes, shoeboxes, and any other cardboard boxes. This is a great way to reuse items that you don’t need anymore, and give them another life!  by Amelia Halverson, Ottawa, Canada
Different countries, even states/provinces in the same country, may have different rules and regulations for battery recycling. A few country examples are described below, to provide you a sense about how you may need to conduct a bit of research locally before you know how you can help recycle batteries.  by Amelia Halverson, Ottawa, Canada
Did you know that according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), each year Americans throw away more than three billion batteries. That's about 180,000 tons of batteries. More than 86,000 tons of these are single use alkaline batteries. Imagine, placed end to end these dead alkaline batteries alone would circle the world at least six times. Sadly, this means that a lot of used batteries are currently occupying landfill space or being burnt away, damaging the environment. 1. Trashed batteries contribute to water and air pollution, which is detrimental to the environment by Joshua Lou, Cypress, California "We have been waiting for you!" This gray-haired gentleman, manager of a senior apartment near my home, quickly walked toward his closet, took out 4 bags of batteries with all kinds of batteries, and earnestly handed them out for me to grab. We had only known each other for about a minute and a half, and I was already getting over 200 batteries he accumulated from the seniors in his apartment complex. I left him with an empty battery collection bucket, not knowing that he would call me for another pickup just three days later because the bucket was completely filled! Many seniors are environmentally conscious. Many of them put aside their used batteries instead of discarding them in the trash. However, driving to battery collection centers might be too much of a hassle for some of them. This is where we come in!
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