Battery recycling

Lots of items around the home and office have batteries hidden or embedded in them.

Items like toys, toothbrushes, remote controls, mobile phones, and e-cigarettes, vapes, and doorbells may have batteries.

Batteries need to be disposed of in the right way because they contain chemicals that are hazardous to the environment.

Lithium batteries can be a fire hazard when they are not recycled. Batteries put into household bins can cause fires at home, in lorries or at your local waste sites.

Watch the following short video from the Recycle Your Electricals campaign to find out more about fires caused by batteries or read on for how and where to recycle your used batteries safely.

Disposing of batteries safely

At shops and supermarkets

Recycle batteries in shops where batteries are sold. Find your nearest drop off point on the Recycle Your Electricals website.

Bin collections

Your district council may provide a separate battery collection for small batteries with your kerbside collection.

Recycling centres

All types of batteries can be taken to a recycling centre. Find your nearest recycling centre.

Unused batteries

Donate working but unwanted batteries to charity shops. Check with the shop first.

Car batteries

Take car batteries to a recycling centre.

Lithium batteries

Large lithium batteries can present a fire risk and should be disposed of at a recycling centre.

Take electric bike or escooter batteries to a recycling centre.

Batteries in broken devices

If safe to do so, remove batteries from broken devices and recycle the device and battery separately at a recycling centre.

If you can't safely remove the battery for example in an e-cigarette or electric toothbrush, recycle the device with the battery inside using the small electricals container at household waste recycling centres.