[atomwaffel]

> If I'm in a hotel room, and something has dead alkalines, I'll toss the batteries, and try to make it very obvious the batteries were removed so they can be replaced for the next guest. That's not theft.

I agree it’s not theft, but the correct thing to do is probably to ask the front desk if they could replace the batteries, like you would for a light bulb. That way, the batteries can (hopefully) be disposed of properly and you get a working remote control.

[gsk22]

In my city, the current recommendation is to simply throw alkaline batteries in the garbage - no special disposal. Only rechargeable batteries require special disposal. This goes against what I was taught growing up, but then most recycling isn't as green as we were led to believe.