Watch Battery Recycling
My husband and I own a jewelry and watch repair store and for years have been saving the spent watch batteries for recycling. We understand there is some silver content in many of these batteries, but mainly we just want to know that they are recycled. What can we do with these? - Gwen in Memphis, TN
Refiner Response - Gwen, it is admirable of you to consider the environment when thinking of how to dispose of these spent watch batteries. Many watch batteries are actually referred to in the industry as “silver oxide batteries” and as the name implies, they contain a small amount of silver. Most precious metal refiners are not going to be too excited about recycling these unless you have hundreds of pounds of them. Since we at Arch Metal Refining process so much silver, we are able to pay out approximately $10 to $15 per pound depending on the quality and quantity of batteries you have to refine. Obviously, the primary benefit is knowing that these batteries are being recycled and disposed of properly, but the fact that you can make a little money on them can be an added bonus.
Tags: silver oxide batteries, silver refining, watch battery recycling
June 20th, 2011 at 12:12 am
Hi ,
I am buying scrap gold from retail shops and I am being asked about watch batteries what would you suggest.
June 22nd, 2011 at 5:00 pm
Hi Tim,
For one thing watch batteries have NO gold in them, so you would have to get the gold you are purchasing refined separately from the silver watch batteries. Keep in mind that we quoted Gwen $10-$15 per pound of watch batteries she had based on the spot price of silver in June 2009.
Since the price of silver is higher now — 2 years later we are paying more per pound. Just make sure that you are not buying the batteries for more than what the silver content in the batteries is worth.
Also make sure that you are not buying lithium batteries. We can only accept silver oxide batteries. Hope that helps!