Call a head of time sometimes they can be out of room(car batteries take up a lot of space)
Check also with your work place. When I was working in Medical research, our Health & Safety department collects it for free and the company gets charge for recycling it by a company that comes for hazardous waste.
San Diego has frequent Recycle events, I save batteries CFCs and the like to turn in for free.
The company charges to recycle your old batteries. In the past when I have made large purchases ( >$80.00) they have recycled my old batteries for free. Set this deal up before you make the purchase.
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