Why would anyone want to throw away perfectly normal batteries?

[ryansoh3]

I was snooping around a battery recycling bin to get some old laptop battery packs to salvage some 18650 cells, but instead came across some Duracell batteries:

I noticed they were in a Ziploc bag, but they looked perfectly normal: no signs of leakage or any disfigurement.

When I measured their voltages, they were all 1.60 volts +/- 0.05. They were brand new!

The C sized cells was in its case as well--it was opened, but all four cells were intact.


I'm just wondering why these perfectly brand new cells were thrown out...

So much for the environment…

I’m well aware of the distinct Korean culture, but there’s nothing about throwing away perfectly normal alkaline cells.

Anyone have theories about this?

 

[Seoul_lasers]

Well, you wouldn't believe what I have found in recycle bins here in Seoul! I have found near perfect leather chairs, TVs, compressed Oxygen gas cylinders, and even a few chemicals that should NEVER EVER go to a recycle depot. I wonder why some areas around Seoul have such badly polluted soil? Hmm...
I'd have to say that the majority of Koreans working are under FAR FAR too much stress and many Koreans, lack the ability to deal with that stress in a positive manner. This starts to affect logical/rational thinking.
Someone probably dumped the batteries because "they" didn't want to deal with having them around anymore.

 

[grainde]

Have you checked their dates? The manufacturers put expiry dates on them...maybe they were out of date and couldn't be sold any more?

Out of curiosity, in the first pic, how did you get your DMM to register 1.6V in thin air? :thinking: :beer:

 

[ryansoh3]

Well, you wouldn't believe what I have found in recycle bins here in Seoul! I have found near perfect leather chairs, TVs, compressed Oxygen gas cylinders, and even a few chemicals that should NEVER EVER go to a recycle depot. I wonder why some areas around Seoul have such badly polluted soil? Hmm...
I'd have to say that the majority of Koreans working are under FAR FAR too much stress and many Koreans, lack the ability to deal with that stress in a positive manner. This starts to affect logical/rational thinking.
Someone probably dumped the batteries because "they" didn't want to deal with having them around anymore.

Wow, nice finds! I haven't been able to find many recycling bins here that had cool stuff, or maybe I haven't been looking hard enough.
I would think that going to a recycling bin, specifically made for batteries, would be more cumbersome, but who knows? :crackup:

Have you checked their dates? The manufacturers put expiry dates on them...maybe they were out of date and couldn't be sold any more?

Out of curiosity, in the first pic, how did you get your DMM to register 1.6V in thin air? :thinking: :beer:

Yup, in the last picture, you can see they all read 2017, so they're fresh.

My DMM can remotely measure AC and DC voltages, so it's pretty useful.

Just kidding, I used the "hold" feature, indicated by a small box in the top left side of the display.

 

[Bionic-Badger]

Ever have some fresh batteries accidentally mixed in with old ones? Without a multimeter it's hard to tell if they're any good. Sometimes batteries are only minimally used, but given a set of fresh batteries, people will opt to just replace them to be sure they're fresh.

Good find for you though!

My friend would grab free computers people would toss to the recyclers. Some were like replaced gaming machines with good stuff that was only a year or two old. Some people replace their cell phones very quickly too, and those are still very nice and good.

In the end, some people have less space than they do money, so when it comes down to it, stuff has to be tossed because it can't be stored. I've got lots of old cool shit because I can store it, but without that room I'd have to get rid of it

 

[Cyparagon]

So much for the environment…

I think the environment has better things to worry about than a small bag of alkalines.

 

[ryansoh3]

Ever have some fresh batteries accidentally mixed in with old ones? Without a multimeter it's hard to tell if they're any good. Sometimes batteries are only minimally used, but given a set of fresh batteries, people will opt to just replace them to be sure they're fresh.

Good find for you though!

My friend would grab free computers people would toss to the recyclers. Some were like replaced gaming machines with good stuff that was only a year or two old. Some people replace their cell phones very quickly too, and those are still very nice and good.

In the end, some people have less space than they do money, so when it comes down to it, stuff has to be tossed because it can't be stored. I've got lots of old cool shit because I can store it, but without that room I'd have to get rid of it

Lucky you! I certainly wish there was an official electronics dump around here, and I can pick up what people don't have space for! :san:

I think the environment has better things to worry about than a small bag of alkalines.

Very true, but small things like these pile up and destroy the environment. As S_L had stated, toxic chemicals and hazmats are being disposed improperly around here, and people often lack the common sense.