Batteries should never be put in the recycling yellow lidded bin or in your general waste green or red lidded bin as they contain dangerous metals and chemicals and if sent to Landfill can leak and contaminate soil and groundwater. Rechargeable batteries and lithium ion batteries are hazardous and could produce sparks that may start a fire in the trucks or recycling facility. This includes batteries in laptops, mobile phones, power tools and cameras.
For disposal of these household items ask about their recycling at the business you purchased them from or search on Google. Businesses to contact to see if they recycle batteries in your area are:
- Bunnings has a national recycling program for household batteries and power tool batteries. It's a free service, you just need to take you old batteries to Bunnings and give them to the staff at the Service Desk at the front entrance of the store.
- Drakes IGA Emu Park has a free battery recycling container adjacent to their front door.
- Aldi supermarkets offer a free battery recycling service at all their Australian stores. Any brand of AA, AAA, C, D and 9V batteries (both rechargeable and non-rechargeable) are accepted - simply drop your used batteries into the dedicated bins in store. For other services and for options for different battery types (e.g. buttons and 12 volts) see below.
- Woolworths supermarkets have a recycling collection unit for household batteries.
- Participating Battery World retail outlets recycle all battery types. Locate a store and call ahead to ensure they can accept your batteries for recycling.
- Officeworks are providing battery recycling services in some of their stores. Call ahead to ensure they can accept your batteries for recycling.