As part of its ongoing commitment to promoting a greener planet and clearer driving, AAA Northern California is offering its popular battery recycling program “AAA Battery Roundup” year-round. AAA members and the public can drop off their old automotive, motorcycle, RV and marine batteries at select locations at any time throughout the year.

“AAA Northern California’s Battery Roundup recycling program has collected 709,000  batteries between 2010-2014,” said Cynthia Harris, spokesperson for AAA Northern California. “This program allows AAA to continue to play an important role in keeping local communities safe and protecting our fragile environment.”

Car batteries contain dangerous substances like lead and sulfuric acid that, when not disposed of properly, can leak into groundwater or cause dangerous chemical burns, fires or lead poisoning. Each year, old batteries stored in homes and garages injure more than 7,000 Americans. If properly recycled, nearly 100 percent of each battery can be reused.

AAA Battery Roundup recycling program has resulted in 468,500 batteries collected from 2001-2009. The program has recycled 8.4 million pounds of lead, 1.4 million pounds of plastic, and 469,500 gallons of sulfuric acid.

In Northern California, AAA offers over 100 convenient drop-off locations for battery recycling. Members and the public are encouraged to bring any number of old vehicle or boat batteries for recycling. In Turlock, batteries can be taken to: Turlock City Tow, 1308 W. Linwood Ave. To find other drop-off locations, visit aaa.com/viabattery.

AAA urges caution when bringing batteries to the drop-off locations. Be sure to wear gloves and safety glasses. Place the batteries upright in a cardboard box or plastic container and make sure they won’t shift or tip over in a moving vehicle.  As a benefit to members, AAA’s Battery Service will go to a member’s location to test their batteries, replace them if needed and recycle their old batteries.