Where to recycle batteries
Do not place batteries in your general waste or recycling bins. We do not collect or recycle batteries as part of our kerbside waste collection. Our household waste processing is not suitable for batteries.
Most supermarkets provide battery bins near the entrance of their stores for customers to use to recycle loose batteries.
You can also take batteries to the electrical section at your local recycling centre.
Examples of loose batteries include:
- the barrel shaped AA and AAA batteries used in remote controls, clocks, etc;
- button batteries used in hearing aids and keys
- larger torch batteries
- 9v batteries in smoke alarms
Built-in batteries (rechargeable, lithium-ion batteries)
These can be recycled in their casing at the electrical section of your local recycling centre.
If you are buying a replacement:
- many high street electrical and electronic retailers will recycle your old electricals when you buy a replacement, on a like-for-like basis.
- many vape retailers provide a takeback service for customers on a ‘one for one’ basis (you can take a vape back when you buy a new one).
Examples of built-in batteries include those in electric toothbrushes, mobile phones, vapes/e-cigarettes, power tools, laptops, and kids consoles and games.
Car, motorbike and industrial batteries
Usually your local garage will offer to recycle the battery for you when you buy a replacement from them. Ideally use the services of a professional mechanic to remove your vehicle battery.
If you are removing your own battery, please take great care in handling it as car and motorbike batteries contain lead and acid. Recycle these swiftly and carefully, taking it to the electrical section of a recycling centre.
Why batteries in household waste are dangerous
All batteries contain toxic 'heavy metals' that, if placed in our household waste disposal system, can be released through the crushing process. This discharge can leech into our soil and groundwater from landfills, and risks poisoning local environments and potentially contaminating the food chain.
Increased rates of consumption, shortening product lifespans, and the advent and popularity of vapes/e-cigarettes have all led to year-on-year increases in battery e-waste that end up in landfill. Vapes additionally risk leaking residual highly concentrated liquid nicotine into the environment.
Recycling batteries safely through recycling centres and retail collection points helps avoid toxic emissions and fires, and enables precious metals in them to be reclaimed.
Fire risk
Lithium-ion batteries (typically rechargeable batteries, often built-in) are crushed when waste is collected and compacted in trucks and in waste processing. The crushing process can cause lithium-ion batteries to catch fire or explode. Flammable items present in household waste can provide fuel to an already dangerous situation.
Battery fires burn to an intense heat, spread rapidly and reignite, causing danger to life through fire and toxic emissions.
Material Focus, 2024 reports that:
- There were 1200 battery-induced fires in bin lorries and at recycling sites in the UK in 2023, up 71% on 2022
- The National Fire Chiefs' Council says “fires involving lithium-ion batteries are a disaster waiting to happen”.
- Battery fires cause air pollution levels to spike in local areas, affecting the health of local communities.