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The clock is always ticking on the lifespan of TV and DVD remote controls and other devices running on small household batteries. The vast majority of Americans see alkaline batteries as disposable, single-use items of which 2.5 billion are thrown away each year, clogging landfills and wasting resources.
One startup, is working to change consumers’ “batt habits” and recharge the household battery market in the U.S. BETTERY, a Portland, Ore., sustainability-focused company, provides smart, battery-swapping retail kiosks, where consumers can purchase and exchange freshly recharged, reusable BETTERY batteries. They can also use the kiosks to drop off old, dead alkaline batteries for recycling.
The initial investment in BETTERY pays for itself in as little as two swaps when compared to the cost of single-use batteries. BETTERY says its advanced AA and AAA batteries can be recharged up to 500 times, meaning consumers might never throw away another set.
Currently the BETTER Swap kiosks are located in five Whole Foods Market stores as well as a location at Portland State University. Swap stations include a touch screen, interactive control system that communicates over the Verizon Wireless network for transaction processing, real-time inventory and reporting, remote monitoring and software updates.
“The network coverage in our service area is excellent; we’ve been able to deploy our BETTERY Swap stations everywhere we need,” says Bill Coleman, BETTERY co-founder and senior vice president of Product Management and Operations. “The Verizon machine-to-machine team provides outstanding technical guidance in the development of our technology and highly responsive support in our rollout and ongoing operations.”
BETTERY is also launching “BETTERY for Business” so they can offer companies and organizations a cost-effective, convenient and sustainable alternative to single-use batteries in the workplace.