Here's what to do with your dead batteries

Most people have some kind of drawer full of junk, and in almost all of those drawers you'll find a dead battery or two.

But luckily, in many places you can now actually throw those used AAAs into the trash. You can also $4 across the country.

Here's how to know if you can toss those batteries or not.

First, it depends on what kind of battery you're trying to get rid of.

Car batteries, and any other type of large, lead-acid battery, $4 or recycling. This should be obvious once you hear "lead" and "acid" - two things that shouldn't be released into the environment willy-nilly.

The good news is that $4 already, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency. You can look up $4 on Earth911.

No rechargeable batteries should go in the trash, either. They almost always contain nickel cadmium, which according to the EPA can $4 in landfills or incinerators. The package should warn you that you have to $4.

The batteries in electronics like cell phones increasingly $4, though this mandate varies by state. Look for an $4 for these, or $4.

But for regular batteries that power our remotes and toys, the question is a little trickier to answer. And they're a big sector, too: Americans purchase over $4, according to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

You've probably heard that you were never supposed to throw away AA, AAA, or other letter-named batteries. This was because in the past, they were made from harmful heavy metals like $4$4.

But many companies started $4 in the early 1990s, and the $4 meant they all had to phase out mercury, so the batteries we use today are safer to throw directly into the trash.

$4 are made of steel, zinc, and manganese, and can be thrown away in your normal trash.

But this recommendation can differ from what local governments say, which is who you really should look it up.

NYC, for example, says you can $4, while California classifies $4." San Francisco recommends $4 or in a collection bin provided by your apartment building.

And while many people can now throw their batteries into the trash, $4 into tons of different things - from cement to new batteries - so you should drop them off at collection sites so they aren't wasted. $4 for that, too.

No matter what you decide to do with your regular batteries, make sure you tape the ends, because they could have a little spark left and start a fire if they come into contact with other batteries.