Residents can drop off old cellphones, laptops and other rechargeable electronics for free at a lithium-ion battery recycling event on Saturday, Nov. 14, at Guyer High School in Denton. The event runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the school, 7501 Teasley Lane. The Pilot Knob Rotary Club is partnering with Advanced Placement environmental science students and teachers Stephanie Riley and Jill Best-Sampson to host it.
Accepted items include cellphones, laptops, tablets, power tools, electric toothbrushes, wireless headphones and gaming controllers. Batteries do not need to be removed from devices first. Organizers asked residents to erase personal information from phones, computers and other electronics before dropping them off.
Organizers said the event aims to keep potentially hazardous batteries out of landfills and recover materials that can be reused. According to event organizers, lithium-ion batteries contain lithium, copper, nickel and cobalt, and recycling technology can recover up to 95% of these materials. They also said fewer than 5% of small rechargeable lithium-ion battery devices are recycled. The Rotary Club and students are working with Andrew Siegel, operator of Junkluggers of Greater Dallas, a junk removal company.