earthCell batteries are low self-discharge, disposable nickel metal hydride (LSD NiMH) batteries that are supposed to have a longer shelf-life than NiMH batteries and run longer than alkalines. When users have exhausted a battery, all they have to do is put it in a prepaid mailer. When the mailer gets full, they ship it off and purchase a new pack of earthCell batteries.
The earthCell batteries that are returned get examined by the company, and if they can be recharged, the batteries will be recharged and resold again. These batteries are capable of handling multiple recharges. Once a battery is done for good, they’ll be dismantled to create new batteries and the process starts again.
Sounds like a good idea that could definitely benefit the environment. Unfortunately, earthCell is still crowdsourcing for funds to continue through its Kickstarter page. However, if you’d like to see this project through, you can help fund it out by pre-ordering some batteries. At the moment it is US-only, but if it proves to be successful, I’m sure it’ll be expanded globally. Find out more.