A Holiday for Getting Rid of Stuff

The Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corp. can give you a list of stores near you that take batteries from cameras, cell phones, laptops, PDAs and even handheld power tools.

Disposable Batteries

This was a tougher challenge. According to Earth 911, some Radio Shacks, Best Buys and Whole Foods(WF Quote) take them, but the stores' Web sites suggested otherwise. It might be worth inquiring at your local outlet if for no other reason than to put the idea in their heads.

Battery Solutions is a private company that recycles batteries and small electronics. For $24 the company will send a postage-paid, addressed box that you can fill with items you want recycled and mail it back for proper disposal.

Otherwise, the best you can do is stay on the lookout for local recycling events where batteries are accepted and consider switching as soon as possible to rechargeables, which have other advantages that I talked about last week.

Ink Cartridges

On the Hewlett Packard(HP Quote) Web site, you can order postage-paid boxes or envelopes for returning cartridges to the company.

Staples will automatically send you a new printer cartridge every time you mail back an old one for recycling through its Inkdrop program. The service is free, but you, of course, have to pay for new cartridges.

In exchange for ink cartridges, Office Depot(ODP Quote) gives $3 coupons that you can put toward replacements.

Compact Florescent Bulbs

Mercury makes these bulbs tricky to throw away, and most curbside recycling programs don't take them yet.

But Ikea says it has bins located in all of its U.S. stores for collecting dead CFLs. You can bring CFLs to the returns desk at Home Depot(HD Quote).

Miscellaneous Doodads

If you have other hard-to-recycle items around the house, such as televisions, paint, toys, tires, lawn products or computer peripherals like printers, check out Earth 911, which has a search function that lets you find local recycling resources all over the country.