Honda Continues Green Manufacturing Practices, Recycles Hybrid Batteries

Honda's initiative to recycle nickel-metal hydride batteries makes driving a hybrid even more environmentally friendly.

Milwaukee, WI (I-Newswire) March 15, 2013 - The team at Schlossman's Honda City have long been fans of the automaker's commitment to environmentally-friendly vehicles and are proud to announce that Honda is recycling old hybrid batteries – like those found in early Insight models – in an effort to make the process of building a hybrid as green as driving one.

Many drivers are aware that driving a hybrid car is better for the environment than a gasoline engine, but creating and disposing of hybrid batteries has been a problem that all auto manufacturers have known about. Honda is actually doing something about it, though.

By using a new process – molten salt electrolysis – Honda can take the nickel out of the rechargeable batteries and recover processable metals with over 99 percent purity. This yield is just as efficient as mining fresh nickel without the environmental impact.

Honda's decision to recycle their batteries came as a side effect of the Japan Earthquake, when vehicles were irreparably damaged, and they wanted to make use of batteries that could no longer be used. Once the battery materials are inspected by JMC, some of the world's hybrid battery experts, they will be repurposed for new Honda autos. This is just the start of what Honda expects will be a recycling initiative that affects the hundreds of thousands of batteries on the road today.

There are multiple vehicles in Honda's current lineup that have hybrid options available, including two of their most popular sedans: the 2013 Accord and Civic. With the Accord leading Honda's February sales and the Civic earning Top Safety Pick+ from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, these well-equipped models have plenty to offer drivers.

Each of the new Honda models includes a revamped set of standard features, offering amenities to drivers that many other automakers expect them to pay for. Some of the features that Honda is using to differentiate the standard LX trims of their vehicles from the rest of the market include

• SMS text messaging capabilities
• Bluetooth phone and audio streaming
• Rearview camera
• Honda's innovative new i-MID touchscreen interface

For more information on the many ways in which Honda strives to be a green auto manufacturer or the current Honda vehicles available, contact the sales professionals at Schlossman's Honda City in Milwaukee. Their showroom is open six days a week at 3450 South 108th Street and also features a wide selection of pre-owned models to choose from.