The bandwagon is green these days. Nearly everyone claims their products are good for the planet. Some of these claims are an example of "greenwashing", a term coined in the 1980s to describe promotion based on irrelevancies, false trade-offs, vagueness, implied endorsements and little green lies.

So what does it mean to be genuinely green? You can gauge how eco-responsible goods and services are by looking beyond the adjectives in the ads to examine how a product is made, delivered, used, and how much waste it generates.

How does the AAA Battery Service earn its “green cred?” Let’s look at the environmental impact of how our batteries are made, how they get to you as a consumer, and how they are reclaimed and recycled.

Pre-cycled from the get-go
Your vehicle battery is about 20 pounds of lead, three pounds of plastic and a gallon of acid. Batteries were energy efficient before “energy efficient” was a buzzword. For more than 100 years, lead-acid batteries have delivered a lot of energy per pound, with low maintenance and a long lifecycle.

AAA installs batteries that are already 97 percent recycled. They are manufactured specially for AAA (CAA) by East Penn Manufacturing, a company that processes “raw material” in the form of 20 truckloads of lead-acid batteries a day. These old batteries are dismantled and the components are separated. Lead goes to a smelter, where it is refined. Plastic goes to an injection molding operation, where it is cleaned, ground, extruded and molded into new parts. Acid is reclaimed through a patented process.

This entire system is automated and computer-controlled to prevent hazardous emissions. Smelting does produce sulfur fumes, but these are captured and used in liquid fertilizer solutions.

In recognition of their stringent quality control; facility-wide reduction, reuse and recycling efforts; and monitoring programs, our manufacturer has earned kudos from engineering, manufacturing and environmental protection organizations. The Discovery Channel has showcased their innovative green technology and environmentally conscious practices.

Keeping you going green
In assessing the green quotient of any product, you must consider how it gets to you, the consumer. That’s where AAA Battery Service comes into the story. When you call your club for roadside assistance, we no longer automatically dispatch a tow truck if your battery is the likeliest problem. Heavier vehicles require more fuel, so when we send out light-service battery trucks, we help reduce our carbon footprint in your community.

Our technicians know how to safely clean and test your battery and remove and replace it if you decide to buy a new battery on the spot. These battery experts are also equipped with safety equipment, including a spill kit that enables them to immediately clean up any acid leaking from old and damaged batteries, which they then deliver to an authorized recycling center.

The circle of (battery) life
We don’t have biodegradable batteries yet, but the industry is delivering the next best thing: batteries that are almost completely reused. According to the Battery Council International, lead-acid batteries are the most highly recycled consumer product in the world.

We offer to return every spent battery to our manufacturer for recycling. In addition, through collection programs such as the Great Battery Roundup®, which invites AAA members to bring in old vehicle and boat batteries, we have kept more than 2 million batteries out of landfills.

Not only is battery collection for recycling a convenience, it also makes sheds and garages safer places. A spent battery is hazardous waste. If improperly stored, a battery may leak, causing sulfuric acid burns and even explosions. Dumping an old battery can also hurt your pocketbook. Many states (provinces) hand out tough fines and jail time for discarding lead-acid batteries anywhere other than an authorized collection or recycling center.

We can’t claim to be “all natural” … or “organic” … but our battery service and the products it delivers are environmentally friendly. The next time a battery-based breakdown has you seeing red, a call to AAA Battery delivers a green alternative.