Imagine you own a store that sells consumer electronics. If you do, that shouldn’t be hard. Why would you want to go to the bother of offering battery recycling to your customers?
Well, for starters, it won’t cost you anything, and the hassle will be minimal. When Oregon instituted the nation’s first bottle bill in 1971, it was sharply opposed by retailers who thought it’d be a problem. Not only wasn’t it a problem, but it increased sales of those very beverages.
Customers like a retailer that makes their lives easier. And while they’re at your store bringing the batteries in, they might as well see what else you have to offer. It’s like free advertising that makes you look good.
Some companies are managing recyclable battery return programs in anticipation of what they believe may be upcoming legislation mandating such changes. By doing so ahead of time, they will also find that should such legislation come, not only will such stores be ready for such changes, but they can also claim to have been ahead of the curve.
