On Thu, 5 Jun 2008 14:56:07 -0700 (PDT) wrote:

How ironic is it that a major rework of a car's electronics will be
done to eliminate a few ounces of lead-tin solder, while the car's
battery contains many pounds of lead and acid?

I think you'll find that auto batteries are already VERY commonly
recycled, for exactly this reason.

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Jim Adney
Madison, WI 53711 USA
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On Jun 7, 10:25�am, Jim Adney wrote:
On Thu, 5 Jun 2008 14:56:07 -0700 (PDT) wrote:

How ironic is it that a major rework of a car's electronics will be
done to eliminate a few ounces of lead-tin solder, while the car's
battery contains many pounds of lead and acid?

I think you'll find that auto batteries are already VERY commonly
recycled, for exactly this reason.

Here in Pennsylvania, there's a "core charge" ($7? might have gone up)
if you try to buy a new car battery without an old one to trade in.
Besides being an incentive to recycle, it gives the auto-parts folks a
chance to put the old battery alongside the new one and make sure it's
the right size.

But the main point is this: Not all car batteries are recycled; some
do get into the waste stream. The same is true of other lead-acid and
ni-cad cells (cadmium is a heavy metal, too). Yet those things are not
outlawed. Instead, recycling and education programs are set up to keep
the lead, cadmium and acid out of the environment.

IMHO, such recycling for discarded electronics is a better solution
than banning lead-tin solder.

73 de Jim, N2EY