Despite what that drumming bunny might try to have you believe, batteries don't last forever. Even the best quality double-As run out of juice eventually whether you use them or not. And most of us just toss our worn-out or expired batteries at the end of the day. They end up in landfills, where they leak that scary white stuff into the earth. It's not just gross--it's toxic and harmful to the environment when it leaks out and flows into the water supply. 

There are alternatives to junking dead batteries, but they're not widely used. Some libraries or schools may have a collecting bin for recycling batteries, but chances are you're not going to go out of your way just to drop off the cast-offs from your TV remote when your own trash bin is right there in the comfort of your own home. Rechargeable alternatives never really took off like some thought they would. Battery waste keeps piling up in America's landfills with no end in sight. It's estimated that the US alone throws away 3 billion batteries every year. But one green-thinking tech entrepreneur wants to change all that.

Since receiving his Ph.D. in Applied Physics from Harvard, Jason Rugolo has been working hard in the Bay Area of California putting his science skills to work. He's developed an entirely new kind of battery technology called low self-discharge nickel metal hydride, or LSD NiMH. It's far more efficient than alkaline battery technology and it's also completely recyclable. 

Rugolo founded earthCell, a company with the mission of distributing these new batteries alongside a convenient system for recycling them. Not only will earthCell batteries last longer than any alkalines, you don't have to visit a special drop-off location to recycle them. Think of them as the Netflix (or Qwikster now, I guess) of batteries. When you're done with them, you send them away in the mail and get new ones. Each pack of batteries comes with a pre-paid envelope that returns them straight to the manufacturer. The batteries are then re-used or broken down and recycled for parts. It's a closed system of portable power that promises to be much cleaner than our current model. 

So far, earthCell batteries are only a concept. The science is there. So is the business model. The company just needs the proper funding to get off the ground. That's where you come in. Rugolo is currently holding a Kickstarter campaign to start getting these guys out into the world. Concerned environmentalists and battery aficionados can pledge at seven different levels, from a token dollar to a $45 pledge package that includes a whole bunch of batteries and a bamboo tray to store them in. Rugolo hopes to raise $17,300 by mid-December. If he's successful, earthCell batteries will start shipping in February. Check it out and pledge to support a cleaner battery.