AAA Chicago Will Recycle Old Car Batteries in Honor of Earth Day
AURORA, Ill., April 14 -- AAA Chicago will observe Earth Day, April 22, by asking motorists in Illinois and northern Indiana to scour garages, backyards and storage sheds for used lead-acid vehicle batteries, and bring them to local Approved Auto Repair shops for recycling as part of a AAA Battery Service initiative called The Great Battery Roundup.
"The impact of vehicle maintenance on the environment can be an overlooked aspect of responsible vehicle ownership," said AAA Chicago's Senior Vice President of Member and Automotive Services David Bufka. "With an estimated 230 million vehicles on the road in North America, the proper use and disposal of vehicle batteries, tires and various types of automotive fluids are crucial to a healthy environment."
To protect the environment, as well as human health and safety, motorists will be able to bring used automobile and marine lead-acid batteries to any of the club's Approved Auto Repair facilities for recycling.
"Nearly 99 percent of a vehicle battery can be recycled and used again without removing new lead, or other natural resources from the environment," said Bufka. "Unfortunately more than five million vehicle batteries are not returned for recycling each year."
Many of these batteries are illegally disposed of in dumps and water sources, but many more are simply sitting in a forgotten corner of someone's property where they could contaminate soil and ground water, explode in a fire or become a source of lead poisoning to humans and animals.
AAA Chicago requests that consumers wear gloves and safety glasses when handling batteries, keep them upright and place batteries in a sturdy box or plastic container when transporting them for recycling. If the battery case is cracked or leaking, be especially careful to choose a leak-proof container. Do not smoke near or expose the batteries to an open flame, and make certain they will not shift and tip over in a moving vehicle.
In 2002, the AAA Battery Service recycled more than 85,000 batteries in the course of performing this new service. The AAA/CAA Great Battery Roundup, held annually in participating clubs in North America in honor of Earth Day, brought in some 12,000 additional batteries that same year.
To find the nearest Approved Auto Repair facility to recycle your battery, visit www.aaa.com , or call (866) YOUR-AAA. Participating AAR facilities are listed below.
Addison Great Lakes Automotive 1213 Capital Dr Unit 6 IL (630) 543-1804 Arlington Heights Barnes Automotive 1203 E. Rand Rd. IL (847) 788-0800 Aurora Lens's Automotive & Tire 989 S Eola Rd. IL (630) 499-1980 Bartlett Midas 1804 W Army Trail Rd. IL (630) 372-9811 Berwyn Dynatech 7511 Cermak IL (708) 442-8951 Bloomington Clay Dooley Tire & Auto 1507 E. Vernon IL (309) 662-2886 Bolingbrook GTM Automotive 495 W. Boughton Rd. IL (630) 759-7300 Buffalo Grove BP Automotive 65 Buffalo Grove Rd. IL (847) 520-5355 Carol Stream Brandy's Automotive 565 Fullerton Ave. IL (630) 653-8485 Carpentersville Midas 20 S. Western Ave. IL (847) 426-3330 Channahon McCoys Tire & Auto 25360 W. Eames St. IL (815) 467-2258 Chicago Car X 10157 S. Western Ave. IL (773) 233-3178 Chicago Midas 158 W Grand IL (312) 670-2505 Chicago Midas - Fred Hoffman 510 W Roosevelt IL (312) 922-5075 Cicero Roosevelt & Laramie Service 5147 W Roosevelt IL (708) 652-6555 Crest Hill Car Care Center Mechanical & Towing 1808 N. Larkin Ave. IL (815) 741-4800 Crystal Lake The Shop 90 East St. IL (815) 459-2886 Danville Auto Mobile Diagonostics 410 W. Harrison IL (217) 443-6161 Decatur Paceley's Garage 3109 N. 22nd Street IL (217) 875-9229 Dekalb Bockman's Amoco 705 E Lincoln Hwy IL (815) 756-7413 Des Plaines Busse Marathon 10 W. Golf Rd. IL (847) 824-6653 Downers Grove Lang Auto 4947 Main St. IL (630) 968-4626 Downers Grove Joe Madden Ford 2150 W. Ogden Ave. IL (630) 968-0488 Elgin McLean Marathon 965 N Mclean Blvd. IL (847) 741-9576 Elk Grove Village Complete Car Care 1704 Oakton IL (847) 437-9600 Elkhart T & C Auto 1710 W Beardsley IN (574) 258-4433 Elmhurst Mehta Motors 463 Spring Rd. IL (630) 279-0566 Evanston Auto Doctor 1600 Foster St. IL (847) 491-9600 Fort Wayne Hire's Auto 5809 Illinois Rd. IN (260) 432-5111 Franklin Park Gary Automotive 1000 E. Green St. IL (630) 860-2996 Galesburg Bolin's 24 Hour Tow & Repair 2356 Grand Ave. IL (309) 343-1558 Gas City Bo's Twin City Auto Service 621 W Main St. IN (765) 674-9664 Glen Ellyn Village Garage 841 N. Main St. IL (630) 469-9700 Glendale Heights Glenside Marathon 1590 Bloomingdale Rd. IL (630) 681-7009 Glenview Cars of America 1727 Chestnut Ave. IL (847) 724-6724 Hammond Auto Masters 6817 Calumet Ave. IN (219) 931-2702 Hanover Park Midas 1505 W. Irving Park Rd. IL (630) 830-0500 Harvey Potenzo Auto Repair 4558 W. 147th St. Midlothian IL (708) 396-0501 Highland Park D & R Autoworks 2366 Skokie Valley Rd. IL (847) 433-4343 Hoffman Estates Higgins Marathon 1300 W Higgins Rd. IL (847) 519-0970 Joliet Auto Care Center 714 W Jefferson St. IL (815) 722-7766 Lake Station Marathon Towing & Recovery 2220 Ripley St. IN (219) 962-4240 Lisle Brandy's Automotive 2955 Ogden Ave. IL (630) 527-1300 McHenry Northtown Automotive 3800 McCullom Lake Rd. IL (815) 363-2886 Merrillville Exhaust Masters Car Care 7913 Taft St. IN (219) 738-1234 Michigan City Ace Auto Service 8707 W U.S. Hwy 20 IN (219) 874-5655 Mishawaka T & C Auto 1033 W McKinley IN (574) 258-5545 Moline MC Tire & Automotive 2119 53rd Street IL (309) 762-2886 Morton Grove P & E Services 8801 Waukegan Rd. IL (847) 966-4448 Mount Prospect Busse Automotive 113 E Prospect Ave. IL (847) 253-1634 Mundelein B & R Auto Care 313 Townline Rd. IL (847) 837-0553 Naperville Sparks Car Care 24125 W. 111th St. IL (630) 904-4115 Naperville Certified Auto 425 Industrial Dr. IL (630) 637-9480 Naperville Davis Automotive Services 915 E. Ogden Ave. IL (630) 357-5000 Normal Team Auto 1223 S Adelaide IL (309) 454-5454 Northlake North Lake Auto Repair 385 E North Ave. IL (708) 338-3920 Oak Lawn Spitfire Automotive 10711 S. Cicero Ave. IL (708) 425-2500 Oak Park Car X 700 Madison IL (708) 383-8706 Orland Park Sparks 9276 W 159th St. IL (708) 460-0460 Palatine Sparks Car Care 1440 N. Rand Rd. IL (847) 934-1133 Park Ridge McGarry's Auto 300 Busse Hwy IL (847) 698-2527 Peoria Beachlers Service 3623 University IL (309) 688-2488 Portage Jim's Amoco 6090 Central Ave. IN (219) 762-4282 Rockdale Rockdale Automotive 22 Graham DR. Unit A IL (815) 725-5039 Rockford Rockford Radiator 2429 S. Alpine Rd. IL (815) 398-9871 Rolling Meadows Brandy's Automotive 2785 Algonquin Rd. IL (847) 222-1234 Schaumburg Schaumburg Automedics 503 Lunt Ave. IL (847) 352-2886 Skokie McCormick Auto 8250 N McCormick Blvd. IL (847) 679-7755 South Bend Veldman's Service Center 5222 Western Ave. IN (574) 287-7236 South Elgin Superior Auto Clinic 605 Sundown IL (847) 695-0050 Springfield Wilkersons Shell 2000 W. Monroe IL (217) 787-2296 Streamwood Casey Auto 44 N Barrington Rd. IL (630) 213-8600 Tinley Park Herman's Auto Service 7250 W. Duvan Dr. IL (708) 429-0990 Urbana P.D.R. Automotive Inc. 1008 N Cunningham Ave. IL (217) 367-9481 Waukegan Whitmore's Service Inc. 600 Greenwood Ave. IL (847) 623-7080 Woodridge Certified Auto 6809 Hobson Valley Dr. #110 IL (630) 960-8771
AAA Chicago offers automotive, travel, insurance and financial services. It is part of The Auto Club Group (ACG), the largest affiliation of AAA clubs in the Midwest, with 4.1 million members in eight states. ACG clubs belong to the national AAA federation, a not-for-profit organization, with more than 45 million members in the United States and Canada.