E Waste Recycling at Home Safe and Responsible Disposal of Old Batteries and Electronics

How-To Geek

There are many reasons you should be recycling unwanted batteries. Throwing batteries away can impact the safety of you and others, harm the environment, and is wasteful of metals that can be reused time and time again.

How and Where to Recycle Disposable Batteries

The best and most convenient method of recycling batteries will differ depending on where you live. Different states, counties, and cities have different options for accessing recycling services. Which service you end up using largely depends on what you're trying to recycle.

The first step is to work out what type of battery you're disposing of. This should be written clearly on the side of the cell (or the top of the cell, in the case of button or coin batteries). Look for descriptors like "alkaline," "lead-acid," "lithium," "nickel cadmium," and others since not all recycling locations accept all types of batteries.

Cylindrical (AA, AAA, C, D) and rectangular batteries may be alkaline, lithium (which is different from lithium-ion), zinc-carbon, nickel-cadmium (NiCd), or nickel-metal hydride (NiMH). Some button or coin batteries (like CR2032 used in Apple AirTags) are lithium, while others (like the common SR44/LR44 watch battery) use silver oxide or alkaline cells.

With this information in hand, you can use a service like Earth911 or Call2Recycle to search for appropriate recycling facilities in your area. These may require that you drop off the batteries at a municipal site or retailer, leave the batteries out for collection on a specific day or date, or mail in batteries in prepaid packaging.Energizer has a recycling location locator you can use which works largely the same way.

Many local authorities recommend calling ahead of any pickups to ensure that they accept the battery type you're hoping to recycle. If you're hoping to use a collection service, check the current schedule on the local authority website before leaving batteries outside.

Many drop-off services offer battery recycling for free, while some sites require a small charge. Mail-in battery recycling programs are more convenient, but you'll pay for the service, with services like WeRecycle starting at $44.95 for the smallest mail-in option. Packaging is normally fire retardant and may include other means of making batteries safe for temporary storage and transit.

Recycle Items that Contain Rechargeable Batteries

You can recycle your old smartphones, laptops, and even USB battery banks at most e-waste recycling centers. You'll find these on websites like GreenerGadgets,Earth911, andCall2Recycle. The EPA also has a list of Certified Electronics Recyclers on its website.

Many stores also offer recycling services for devices that include built-in rechargeable batteries. This includes Staples, Lowe's, Home Depot, Apple, and Best Buy to name just a few. These retailers will take your gadgets and recycle them for free, even if you didn't purchase from them in the first place (yes, even Apple).

Remember to always wipe your personal data from a device that you intend to dispose of. Many old gadgets that seemingly have no resale value can be donated and recycled or refurbished, so they may be useful to someone.

Why Recycle Your Old Batteries?

Throwing batteries out in the trash can be dangerous. Spent cells can spark and cause fires, or even explode. This can cause harm to you or your family, be a health hazard to those who have to handle your trash, or cause damage to your home and other equipment. News stories about garbage trucks catching fire due to improper battery disposal are surprisingly common.

Even if batteries reach landfill safely, they can still cause severe environmental damage. Batteries of all types use harmful heavy metals and other environmentally unfriendly materials that leech into local water supplies and soils.

Recycling may be an energy-intensive process, but that doesn't mean it's not worth doing. The switch to electric vehicles is ushering in a new wave of recycling efficiency, with new electrochemical recycling processes promising over 96% efficiency in terms of extracted cobalt, lithium, manganese, and nickel. That's good, but as consumers, we still need to make sure batteries enter the recycling chain in the first place.

Reclaiming materials found in spent batteries reduces the need to mine and refine more. It also makes economic sense, with some reports suggesting it costs 13 times more to mine metals from raw ore than it does to recover them from e-waste using "urban mining" techniques. Some of these are classed as "critical minerals" by the US government.

A critical mineral is defined as: "a non-fuel mineral or mineral material that is essential to the economic and national security of the United States, that has a supply chain vulnerable to disruption, and that serves an essential function in the manufacturing of a product."

Finally, many recycling drop-off points are located in stores you probably already frequent regularly, and your local government probably already has a scheme in place that you can take advantage of.

Can You Throw Away Batteries?

Some states allow you to throw away certain types of batteries, but that doesn't necessarily mean you should. Others have mandatory recycling regulations in effect, which prohibits throwing batteries out in the trash by law. You can check on the status of the law wherever you live on the Call2Recycle website.

For example: in California, all single-use batteries must be recycled or taken to a household hazardous waste disposal facility or similar. Other states like Texas and Virginia only have laws governing the disposal of lead-acid batteries.

Even if your state doesn't mandate that batteries are recycled by law, choosing to recycle is the more responsible choice.

What Not to Do With Old Batteries

Outside of not throwing used batteries in the trash, you should also take care not to leave old batteries inside a device for extended periods. Old batteries tend to leak, which will cause damage to your devices. This can cause the contacts to corrode so that your devices no longer draw power correctly.

Related: PSA: Your Old Gadgets Are a Fire Hazard, Here's What to Do

Leaky batteries can be difficult and hazardous to handle, so make sure you recycle them before they pass their use-by date. If you're storing a battery-powered item for an extended period, make sure that you take the batteries out first. This can also be true of rechargeable batteries, though these can be harder to remove than disposables.

If ever you notice that a rechargeable battery within a device (like a smartphone, laptop, or tablet) has started to bulge, make sure you take care to dispose of it carefully and correctly. Batteries that are bulging could potentially explode and cause serious harmandlong-term health effects.

Finally, make sure you don't throw batteries in a fire since they will explode. Lithium-ion batteries are particularly dangerous when exposed to flame.

Recycle Your Old Gadgets Too

Your old gadgets could be a fire hazard, so make sure that you store, inspect, and dispose of them correctly. If your gadgets aren't too old you can use trade-in programs like Amazon Trade-In, Apple Trade In, or sell them yourself so that you don't have to worry about them sitting around.

How to Recycle Electronics the Right Way, No Matter Where You Are

Electronic waste (also called e-waste) is a huge problem. In 2021, Bloomberg reported that an estimated 74 million tons of e-waste a year will be produced worldwide by 2030. Instead of perpetuating this crisis, it's more important than ever that we become aware of how to recycle electronics.

Although e-waste is a catch-all term for used electronics that are landfilled or improperly discarded, there is also "inherent value of these materials that can be reused, refurbished, or recycled to minimize the actual waste," according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Meaning, for every old tech gadget that goes in the garbage, heavy metals and chemical components from those devices (and their batteries) that could be repurposed elsewhere are wasted, threatening human health and the environment by potentially leaching into the soil and water.

Its up to each of us to repurpose, responsibly recycle, or safely dispose of our old electronics. If correctly processed, the metals and materials that comprise these gadgets can be reintegrated into new products, even making their way into innovative new uses like clothing insulation.

Because electronics have to be recycled in a specific way (i.e., not thrown into your recycling bin with your papers, plastics, and metal cans), this process can seem daunting if you're not aware of your state regulations. However, once you know how to recycle electronics or where you can drop them off for proper disposal, it's easier to repeat this moving forward.

Read on to learn more about how to recycle electronics, so your old smartphones, laptops, and kitchen gadgets can be helpful not hurtful to the environment.

The first step to understanding how to recycle electronics is to assess all of the stuff that you want to get rid of. If your old electronics are still in working condition, the best and eco-friendliest option is to give the item a second life by donating it. (If it doesn't work, more on that later.)

For example, Free Geek, based in Portland, Oregon, is a nonprofit organization that accepts various kinds of unwanted electronics, refurbishes them, and finds them new homes around the local community. Students, young adults, and others who cant afford or dont have access to updated technology often receive low- or no-cost gear from this organization. You may be able to find a similar organization in your area by searching online.

Another option is to try to donate your working gadget or appliance to a nationwide organization like Goodwill. However, its critical to know which items they will and wont accept to reduce the strain on the organization to dispose of it.

If your unwanted electronics and tech are broken, worn out, or drained of their battery power, your next option is seek out how best to recycle them.

Currently, only 25 states (and the District of Columbia) have e-waste laws, and if your state is one of them, it's a good idea to familiarize yourself with them and check whether your state sponsors safe electronics disposal events. The Electronics Recycling Coordination Clearinghouse (ERCC) alsoo provides an interactive map that lets you see at a glance all of the specific state laws around electronics recycling.

In addition, you can check out these organizations that'll either take your items or direct you to a responsible disposal site near you:

• Call2Recycle: If you have batteries to get rid of, this is where to go. Call2Recycle is a national organization with a comprehensive national battery recycling program. Through their site, you can easily find a nearby location that will take most kinds of batteries. There are also mail-in options for those unable to get to a drop-off location.
• Ridwell: This growing curbside service takes batteries, light bulbs, and a number of other hard-to-recycle products right from a box at your front door for a monthly subscription fee.

Lithium-ion batteries, which can be both removable or embedded into electronics, are frequently in the news for causing home fires. This is because any impact or damage to these devices can cause a reaction called thermal runaway in which they overheat and combust. Unfortunately, manufacturers don't always make it easy for consumers to dispose of these types of batteries and devices properly.

With so many different types of batteries powering nearly every manner of device, its unreasonable to expect consumers to be battery sorters, says Call2Recycle VP of Operations Eric Frederickson. For example, lithium AAs and alkaline AAs look very similar shape, size, etc. but one legally can go in the garbage, and the other, if it goes into the garbage, could potentially cause a fire and put people and property at risk. Also, if consumers attempt to remove lithium-ion batteries from devices that theyre embedded in, they can damage the batteries and make them more dangerous than if they were left in the device.

Interior of a phones lithium-ion battery.

For those who have undamaged lithium-ion batteries that they're preparing to recycle, know that it's unsafe to drop them off in a pile or leave them unmarked for your disposal site to deal with. Frederickson encourages taking these steps to help minimize risks:

• Option A: Bag each battery in its own clear plastic bag before placing it in a storage container.
• Option B: Tape the positive terminal with clear packing tape, nonconductive electrical tape or duct tape, keeping labels visible.

The good news is, there are several national retailers that'll take your old electronics and batteries off your hands to recycle them for you. The items that a specific store accepts may vary, so its best to call ahead before heading to your local retailer.

The following stores have electronics recycling and trade-in programs:

Amazon: The online megastore has electronics recycling and trade-in options available and also partners with Call2Recycle for battery recycling.

Apple: The brand's trade-in/recycling program is very straightforward. Most of the process can be done online, and you may not even need to visit a store. (Microsoft has similar options for its devices.)

Batteries Plus: They will take several hard-to-recycle products, such as specific batteries and lights all you have to do is drop them off.

Best Buy: The electronics retailer accepts a wide range of products, including certain TVs, curling irons, and more. They can be strict about what they accept, so check with your local retailer about the items you want to donate.

Lowes: They will take certain batteries and lights, but it varies by store.

Staples: The office-supplies store will accept many of the electronics they carry, including hard drives, paper shredders, and desktop computers. Just note that Staples does not accept alkaline batteries.

The Home Depot: Here, you can recycle rechargeable batteries and certain light bulbs. This retailer will also accept certain plastic plant pots.

Geoff is a lifestyle journalist & copywriter focused on helping brands make the world a better place through compelling copy. Hes a regular contributor at several outlets, including Barrons, InsideHook, AskMen and several Hearst titles. You can check out more of his work at geoffnudelman.com.