STINAPA Distributes Used-Battery Receptacles at All Bonaire Dive Centers

[Boat Chick]

This is really good news

The Bonaire Insider - News Item: STINAPA Distributes Used-Battery Receptacles at All Bonaire Dive Centers

 

[Blackrock]

So what does STINAPA plan to do with the batteries once they are collected?

 

[drbill]

Very good news... wish there were more options for proper "disposal" of batteries.

 

[DiveMaven]

We brought our used batteries home with us this summer, and will likely do the same next year so the folks on Bonaire don't have to deal with them at all. Glad they have the collection buckets for those that typically just toss them in the trash on Bonaire, as well as for the locals.

 

[Storm]

Here's a novel idea....save the land fill, use rechargables instead.

 

[DiveMaven]

Here's a novel idea....save the land fill, use rechargables instead.

We do for our camera and strobe, but use regular Duracells for the flashlights. The regular batteries will last us an entire 2 week trip without having to open the lights like we would have to with rechargeables. And the less I have to open my dive light, the less of a chance for a flood. So I'll just bring my regular batteries home and recycle them like I always do.

 

[Storm]

We do for our camera and strobe, but use regular Duracells (sic) for the flashlights. The regular batteries will last us an entire 2 week trip without having to open the lights like we would have to with rechargeables(sic). And the less I have to open my dive light, the less of a chance for a flood. So I'll just bring my regular batteries home and recycle them like I always do.

My wife's and my light take a total of 24 C cell batteries (8 for the hand canon, 4 for the backup). When I looked at the amount of battery waste that we would have with those, I switched out the hand canons from xenon to LED. The burn time with fresh rechargeable batteries lasts for a two week trip's worth of night dives. We also haul a charger with us; just in case we do more night dives than originally planned. We also take 24 AA rechargeable cells for our cameras and strobes.

Opening the lights to take out the batteries for charging, give us the opportunity to do a full maintenance cycle including thoroughly cleaning out any salt contamination and allows us to re-grease the O rings. It only take's about an hour to do the full maintenance cycle on all "floodables" so we do the full cycle once a week during each two week vacation. Not a big deal rally, and we save both on the cost of alkaline batteries and landfill space.

I did not mean to imply that using alkaline batteries is wrong. Some agency "rules" do not even allow for the use of rechargeable batteries in primary dive lights. What I was more trying to get folks to think about was their pollution footprint when travelling.

For example, it's odd how some folks will do everything in their power to reduce their electricity costs when at home); turn off lights when not in the room, and dial back the AC when no one is in the house; but then turn on every light and crank up the AC in their hotel room and head out to the beach.

Or, rather than take a travel mug with them, will belly up to the bar and go through a ton of those little plastic cups that end up in landfill; especially when going to islands that may not have the more advanced recycling/waste disposal facilities as other countries.

A few years ago, we opted to change how we travel slightly, and try to leave less waste than we did in the past.

No insult was intended, just offering an alternative way of doing things.

 

[DiveMaven]

No offense taken, though I admit I read your earlier post as pretty abrupt in nature when you clearly didn't intend that tone.

Thank you for your detailed description of how you manage your battery use. We're lucky in that our lights take AA batteries, so using rechargeables isn't difficult. Based on what you've written, I'll definitely be reconsidering the use of rechargeables in my dive lights.

 

[Storm]

When first I looked at moving to rechargeable batteries, I did so, not because of the environmental impact, but actually out of a desire to reduce diving costs. The first problem was the initial cost of buying the batteries, the charger, the inconvenience of recharging, and the hassle of battery maintenance.

To get around the cost of the batteries, we opted to go to industrial batteries (generics); Tenergy batteries (all-battery.com). The cost for us (being Canadian and having to shell out ridiculous duty and taxes on cross-border orders) would have been prohibitive but by ordering from bulk suppliers it worked out to about $4.00 USD per battery (retail the go for $14.00 CDN for a twin pack).

Next was the charger. I shopped around for this one for a while, and instead of buying the el cheapo rapid charger, I invested in an 8 cell bank charger (PowerEx MH-C808M) that can do AAA, AA, C and D cells, can rapid charge, slow charge, and has a condition mode (fully charges then fully discharges, then recharges to max capacity).

The batteries we selected are rated for 1000 cycles under optimum conditions. Even cutting this in half to 500 cycles, a more practical number you're looking at a few thousand dollars in battery costs compared to a few hundred for the battery and chargers. So while we are reducing our pollution footprint, we are also saving a fair chunk of change to boot.

Peace and be well.

 

[Boat Chick]

So what does STINAPA plan to do with the batteries once they are collected?

I don't know, but I'll email them and find out. I'm sure, as it's STINAPA, they will be disposed of in an environmental way