What I found in the recycle bin today made me aware of something I never really thought about.
Whenever I go into a Home Depot I make it a point to try and look into the battery recycle bins by the returns desk. Today was no exception.
This time I actually had some loose 18650’s that I wanted to dispose of. When I came up to the bin I didn’t see the roll of plastic bags they keep there so that loose cells can be wrapped. I could see from looking inside the bin that there were some in there so I reached in and pulled one out. Thing was though it already contained some packaged cells!
Looking a little closer, I noticed this sticker on the outside of the bag.
After reading THAT, I knew just what I was going to find. New cells that had “gone to a penny” and where thrown away by Home Depot and placed into the recycle bin.
For those that don’t know, when Home Depot puts items on clearance they generally are reduced over a period of time to 75% off. If after a set amount of time, if those items still do not sell, they pull them from the shelves, mark them for a penny in their system, and throw them away
Lamp shades, plumbing parts, light bulbs etc get thrown into the dumpster and crushed. Batteries however have to be disposed of in the proper way.
They are thrown in the same battery recycle bin that is place by the returns desk for the general public.
I netted 7 packs of 4 cells each of these Energizer Advanced Lithium AAA cells. And they are not “damaged”, they are brand new.
Actually I have found quite a number of these cells in both AA and AAA at a penny, Here is a link to the “Home Depot Deal Alerts & Discussion Thread”
where I posted about my score.
and again here Home Depot Deal Alerts & Discussion Thread - #1771 by dchomak