It's now illegal to throw out rechargeable batteries in New York State

I believe this is the wrong approach. The law is mostly unenforceable, and I imagine it won't lead to a significant reduction in disposed rechargeable batteries as most people won't encounter the law on a regular basis. A better approach would be to do something similar to what is done with recycled goods; apply a tax to the product when it is first purchased and refund that tax if the product is returned at an appropriate facility.

If the fee goes to pay for say a monthly home pickup of hazardous waste, I'm all for this.<p>Most people don't know about what they're throwing away, and often don't care - they just want it gone. I don't blame them - the right way to get people to do something is to make it easy to do.

I'm surprised. For as long as I can remember, disposing of any battery was only allowed in special places/bins. Batteries never belonged into the trash for me.<p>And .. quote:<p>"The act does not cover batteries or battery packs weighing 24 pounds or more; batteries used as the principal power source for cars, boats, trucks, tractors, golf carts, wheelchairs or other vehicles; batteries used to store electricity from solar or wind-driven generators; or batteries that provide backup power an an essential part of an electronic device."<p>Doesn't this basically make this one giant mess, defeating the good intention? So any normal battery, any rechargeable battery that you loaded from a solar panel, the real messy big ones etc. - are still unrestricted? Hilarious.

Reading the text of the law[1], I'm surprised battery manufacturers haven't already filed an interstate commerce lawsuit.<p>States can usually place all the restrictions and requirements they want on retailers and residents, but trying to force out-of-state manufacturers to perform in-state acts like this is sticky.<p>[1]<a href="http://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/materials_minerals_pdf/batterylaw.pdf" rel="nofollow">http://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/materials_minerals_pdf/batterylaw...</a>