Apple Details MBP 17" Battery Replacements

"The battery in your MacBook Pro (17-inch, Early 2009) is a consumable item, which means it will require replacement at the end of its useful life. A replacement battery can be purchased directly from Apple. The price of the replacement battery includes installation of your new battery and environmentally responsible disposal of your depleted battery."

If you live near an Apple Store, this isn't a terrible deal.  If you don't, well, you're out of luck and you'll have to ship it off to get the battery replaced.  At least they'll dispose of the old battery properly.  For the record, I still don't like the idea of a non-user-replaceable battery.