North Village library gets battery-charging station

The North Village branch of the Austin Public Library announced on Monday the opening of a new public battery-charging station. Library patrons can use the high-traffic station to charge phones, tablets and other electronics. North Village was able to purchase the equipment because of a $1,000 grant it won in September after dominating the Battery Recycling Challenge hosted by Austin Resource Recovery and Call2Recycle. Competing against other area libraries, North Village collected 1,042 pounds of batteries to be recycled, more than any other competitor. In an announcement about the new charging station, North Village branch manager Michael Abramov said, “Since rechargeable batteries reduce the overall amount of battery waste, it seemed like an ideal way to spend the $1,000 won in the Battery Recycling Challenge.”