A Rio Rancho Batteries Plus store is reminding the public that recycling batteries is a good way to help the environment.

Bernadette King, the store's co-owner, reminded the community that batteries are meant to be recycled, a release on KOB4 said this week. King noted that their Batteries Plus store accepts all types of batteries for recycling.

"So there are a lot of places that will take the recyclables — including us — and we'll package them, we'll prepare them and do what needs to be done to make sure they're safely disposed of," she told KOB4. "We have buckets for the different types of batteries. Depending on the chemistry, they have to be handled differently, like these lithium-ion batteries have to be sandwiched between sand — so we put them in static-shielding bags, put a layer of sand or static shielding so there's no risk of fire."

King cautioned that leaving batteries around the house can be hazardous because chemicals can leak from the battery, and that could lead to smoking from the battery or explosions, the release said. She also warned that throwing batteries away can be devastating to groundwater.