An easy way to dispose batteries

Recycling woes. Have you been storing your used batteries in some corner of your house because they are banned from trash? I have been struggling with finding a convenient way to recycle them myself. I know I could take it to my office where they have separate bins for batteries, aerosol cans and other recyclables. But I always forget.

A new hope. Well now there is a new rule that offers a much needed relief. The South Bayside Waste Management Authority (SBWMA) has launched a new curbside recycling program for household batteries and cell phones on October 1, 2007.

Residents in single-family homes of SBWMA member agencies (i.e., the cities of Atherton, Belmont, Burlingame, East Palo Alto, Foster City, Hillsborough, Menlo Park, Redwood City, San Carlos and San Mateo along with unincorporated portions of San Mateo County and the West Bay Sanitary District) can set out household batteries (rechargeable and disposable alkaline types, but no automotive batteries) in a clear plastic bag on top of their mixed paper recycling bin on recycling collection day. Cell phones should be wrapped in paper and placed inside the same clear plastic bag that contains the batteries.

Where have all the AAA's gone. That reminds me, I have not been able to find AAA batteries in Costco for some time now. Is that only in Foster City? Or did Costco decide to stop selling AAA batteries? If they did where else can I get a good deal on AAA batteries like I could get at Costco?