Alkaline Battery Recycling Contest

In an effort to educate local students about the importance of protecting the environment, CMSD hosts an annual Alkaline Battery Recycling Contest among local schools. At the beginning of each school year, local schools are invited to participate in the contest for a chance to raise money for their school by ensuring that household batteries are collected and recycled. The contest is FREE to join, and all schools within CMSD’s service area are eligible to participate!

Here’s how it works:

Each participating school is given designated containers to collect household batteries.
Once the school fills at least 4 containers with household batteries, the batteries are collected, weighed, and recycled.
Near the end of the school year, CMSD announces the awards and the total weight of household batteries collected by each school.

Awards:

Most batteries collected (by weight):
- 1st place – $1,200
- 2nd place – $1,000
- 3rd place – $800
- 4th place and beyond:
  - Over 1,000 lbs. collected – $500
  - 500 to 999 lbs. collected – $350
  - 100 to 499 lbs. collected – $300
  - 51 to 99 lbs. collected – $200
  - Under 50 lbs collected – $100

Important Safety Information:

This program is intended to collect alkaline batteries only. Below are the types and sizes that are accepted:

For 9 Volt batteries, it is required to place tape on the metal terminals before placing them in the collection container.
The following battery types are NOT accepted:
- Rechargeable Lithium Ion (Li-Ion)
- Small Sealed Lead Acid (SSLA/Pb)
- Nickel Metal Hydride (Ni-MH) over 9 volt
- Nickel Cadmium (Ni-Cd) over 9 volt and Nickel Zinc (Ni-Zn) over 9 volt
- Primary/Single-Use [Alkaline & Carbon Zinc over 12 volt]
NOTE: If any of the unacceptable battery types are mistakenly collected, they must be placed in plastic bags (one battery per bag) in order to avoid fire hazards. If plastic bags are unavailable, exposed battery terminals should be taped with non-conductive tape before placing them into a collection container.

If you represent a school within CMSD’s service area that wishes to participate in the contest, please contact CMSD .

2023-24 Winners

Ranking	School	Battery Totals (in lbs)	Reward
1st	Paularino Elementary	2,471	$1,200
2nd	Sonora Elementary	1,292	$1,000
3rd	David Magnet School	1,242	$800
4th	Kaiser Elementary	891	$350
5th	Estancia High School	869	$350
6th	College Park Elementary	814	$350
7th	Killybrooke Elementary	795	$350
8th	Christ Lutheran School	774	$350
9th	California Elementary	580	$350
10th	Newport Heights Elementary	550	$350
11th	Waldorf School	478	$300
12th	Victoria Elementary School	271	$300
13th	Harper Elementary School	238	$300
14th	St. John the Baptist School	237	$300
15th	Early College High School	211	$300
16th	TeWinkle Middle School	132	$300
17th	Rea Elementary	127	$300
	Total	11,972	$7,550