I think that part of permaculture is doing a good job of recycling and that is also one of the reasons why I’m a huge fan of SpaceX. I have gotten disgusted with rechargeable batteries though. They are toxic so you shouldn’t throw them in the trash. And they don’t seem to last very long for me.
I had a jar of them and was thinking that I should try and take them somewhere, but had just not gotten around to it. I was cleaning up around that jar and decided to take a few of them and sand the ends with very fine sandpaper and try to recharge them again. They all recharged.
I have taken the rest of the jar, probably two dozen batteries, and have a 90% recharge rate after having sanded the ends thoroughly until they were bright and shiny. I think that rechargeable batteries are actually designed to fail. They all have a little dimple in the end where the chargers contact. It is very difficult to buff there. In some cases I took a file and rounded the end so that it was more dome-shaped and I can get the whole contact point all shiny.
I have a whole bag in the freezer now. They last a lot longer charged up if thay are in the freezer.