December 18, 2018

What NOT To Do With Lithium Batteries

The next time you think of just throwing out your old smartphone, think again…

Ever wonder why it’s illegal to throw away your electronic and smart devices? Not only is it bad for the environment, it can be dangerous –  and deadly. Lithium batteries can be volatile and easily catch fire, sometimes numerous times as these teens found out the hard way!

Why do Batteries Catch on Fire?

The beauty of lithium batteries is they hold a considerable charge, they’re lightweight and can be found everywhere – in your laptop, smartphones and other devices. However, they have a thin protective coating that when punctured, can cause an explosion or fire. So recycling that smartphone or storing it away in your top dresser door could eventually lead to disaster.

How to Minimize the Risk of Fire?

  • Avoid overheating your devices. Don’t store them in the glove box in a hot car. Love to fall asleep to YouTube? Make sure your smart phone isn’t under the covers with you.
  • Let go of obsolete devices – store photos in the cloud and get rid of that old phone safely. (ShipnDestroy.com will show you how!)
  • NEVER put your smart device in the garbage or recycling bin – they can easily puncture and cause an explosion.
  • Avoid over-charging your device. Lithium batteries are designed to run on one charge throughout the day. Use the original charging device your smartphone or laptop came with to reduce your risk.

You can always count on Ship n Destroy to safely destroy your smart devices, hard drives and computers.