A woman has said she has found a clever way to get money back for old batteries, rather than just dropping them off at a recycling center. The woman works for River City Wheels (@ingridfallin on TikTok), which is a company that rents mobility scooters and wheelchairs throughout San Antonio, Texas.
In the video, she claimed that you can take the batteries to O’Reilly Auto Parts and, in exchange, you will get $10 for every battery you turn in. That’s right, if you recycle through the auto parts store, you will get $10 every time.
Many of us have probably been told to just take batteries, be they for a car, mobility scooter, or household appliance, straight to recycling so they can be disposed of safely. But taking them to O’Reilly still guarantees that the batteries will be recycled, and not dumped in a landfill site or taken away for some unknown destination.
The $10 from O’Reilly Auto Parts acts as an excellent incentive to get these electrical components recycled. Some might see a trip to a recycling center as too much effort, but if you are being paid to take them, then surely there is no reason not to do so.
How You Can Get Your Money From O’Reilly Auto Parts
@ingridfallin $10 gift card, per battery, with a five battery per day limit, at O’Reilly’s auto parts.#mobilityscooter #smallbusiness ♬ original sound – River City Wheels
The video shows the woman from River City Wheels showing off two $50 gift cards that they received after she had brought in old batteries. “Did you know that O’Reilly will give you $10 for every single battery that you recycle through them?” she asked in the video on the TikTok account.
So with two $50 vouchers, that is $100 in total, meaning just ten batteries led to a solid gift card amount for her to spend. And of course, you can spend that money on anything you want. The video was made as a PSA for other mobility scooter companies, in order for them to do the right thing with any old batteries they also have. The woman said it was for those “that are constantly buying batteries and thinking you’re doing the environment a favor by taking them to Home Depot or someplace like that.”
O’Reilly limits this program to five batteries a day, so you can get $50 at a time. So if you have 20 batteries, just pop in over four days, and you will get yourself an easy $200 to spend on anything you want for your car. In fact, the woman in the video said she was off to get another gift card the day after she recorded the video. There are, however, a few things to consider before doing so.
Not Every Battery Qualifies for the Scheme
According to the automotive store, customers bring in an eligible battery, which then qualifies them for the $10 gift card. There are different limits as to how many you can bring to the stores in Florida and California, however. In Florida, it is two batteries per day, while in California it goes up to six a day. It is important to note that not every battery will qualify, so you can’t just take anything in and expect to be rewarded.
O’Reilly said that the batteries must meet various requirements. Damaged batteries won’t be accepted; however, they will still recycle them for you, you just won’t get the gift card. For stores like River City Wheels, it is a great alternative to simply throwing the batteries away. There is peace of mind knowing they are getting recycled, and there is a bonus for being a good citizen. It is just important to remember that not all of your batteries will qualify.