How to Dispose of Lithium Batteries and Recycle Batteries Near You (2026)
How to dispose of lithium batteries and recycle every other kind in 2026: which types are safe to toss, which ones start fires, Home Depot, Lowe's, and Staples battery recycling, and how to prep them first.
Almost every home has one: a drawer, a jar, or a plastic bag slowly filling up with dead batteries. AA cells from the remote, a puffy old phone battery, a couple of nine-volts from the smoke detectors, maybe a cordless drill pack that no longer holds a charge. Nobody is quite sure what to do with them, so they sit there for years.
Part of the confusion is that batteries are not all the same. A few types are genuinely fine to put in the trash. Others are illegal to throw away in some states, and a growing number are a real fire risk if they end up in a garbage truck or a curbside bin. The good news is that once you can tell the types apart, recycling them is usually free and takes one short trip. This guide covers how to sort your batteries, which ones you can toss, where to drop off the rest near you, and how to prep them so they travel safely.
First, Figure Out What Kind of Battery You Have
Everything else depends on this one step, so it is worth thirty seconds. Most household batteries fall into four groups.
Single-use alkaline batteries. The everyday AA, AAA, C, D, and 9-volt batteries that power remotes, toys, and flashlights, usually branded Duracell or Energizer. These are the least hazardous type and the most forgiving to get rid of.
Single-use lithium batteries. Also disposable, but built with lithium. You will find them as coin and button cells in watches, key fobs, car remotes, and hearing aids, and as lithium AA and AAA cells sold for cameras and other high-drain devices. The word “lithium” is almost always printed right on them.
Rechargeable batteries. Anything you plug in to charge back up. This covers the lithium-ion packs sealed inside phones, laptops, tablets, vapes, power tools, e-bikes, and Bluetooth speakers, plus older rechargeable AA cells and nickel-cadmium packs. These are the ones that cause fires.
Car and other lead-acid batteries. The heavy battery under your hood, along with lawn tractor, motorcycle, and backup-power batteries. These follow a completely separate path, covered further down.
If you only remember one thing, make it this: rechargeable and lithium batteries need to be recycled, never trashed. The plain alkaline ones are the flexible case.
The One Rule That Prevents Fires
Lithium-ion batteries are behind a problem that has gotten much worse in the last few years. When one is crushed, punctured, or shorted out, it can overheat and catch fire, and it does not need a spark to do it. That is exactly what happens when a phone battery or a disposable vape gets tossed in the trash and then compacted in a garbage truck or on a sorting line.
The numbers are not small. In 2025, roughly 448 fires were reported at recycling and scrap facilities across the United States and Canada, about 100 of them serious enough to be called catastrophic, adding up to an estimated $2.5 billion in damage. Lithium batteries, and cheap disposable vapes in particular, are one of the main causes. We get into those throwaway vapes and other awkward devices in our guide to hard-to-recycle tech.
So the rule is simple. Never put a rechargeable battery, a lithium battery, or any device with a built-in battery in your household trash or your curbside recycling bin. Curbside recycling is not set up to handle them, and dropping a lithium cell in with your paper and cans just moves the fire risk down the line. Take them to a drop-off point instead.
How to Dispose of Lithium Batteries Safely
Lithium batteries take a few extra steps, but disposing of them is still free in most places:
- Tape the terminals. Cover both ends, or the flat contacts on a coin cell, with clear packing tape so they cannot short out.
- Bag damaged ones separately. A swollen, leaking, or cracked lithium battery goes in its own sealed plastic bag.
- Leave built-in batteries in place. Recycle the phone, laptop, or vape as a whole device rather than prying the battery out.
- Take them to a drop-off. Rechargeable lithium-ion packs go in the free bins at Home Depot and Lowe’s. Single-use lithium cells go to Staples or a local hazardous waste center. A certified e-waste center takes both.
The sections below explain each option, and the prep steps further down cover storage while you wait.
Can You Throw Alkaline Batteries in the Trash?
This is the question that trips people up, and the honest answer is that it depends on where you live.
Regular single-use alkaline batteries, the standard AA and AAA type, stopped containing added mercury back in the 1990s. Because of that, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency considers them non-hazardous, and in most of the country it is legal to put them in your regular trash. The EPA still recommends recycling them where you can, since the metals inside are worth recovering and do not belong in a landfill.
There is one big exception. California treats every battery, including plain alkaline ones, as hazardous “universal waste,” which means throwing any battery in the trash is against the rules there. Several other states and many local programs have similar requirements. California is also rolling out a new statewide battery collection program through late 2026 that will add more free drop-off locations, so the easy option is only getting easier.
If you are not sure what your state or city requires, the safe and simple move is to recycle all of them. You never go wrong recycling a battery. You can only go wrong throwing the wrong one away.
Where to Recycle Batteries Near You
You have more free drop-off options than you might expect, and several of them are probably within a few minutes of home.
Local certified e-waste and household hazardous waste centers. Usually the best choice for a mixed pile, because one facility can take everything from loose AAs to power-tool packs to anything damaged. You can find a center near you by searching your city on RecycleOldTech.com, where each listing shows what the facility accepts, its hours, and contact details.
The Battery Network. The long-running program many stores use, formerly known as Call2Recycle, recently rebranded as The Battery Network. It runs more than 20,000 drop-off points nationwide and takes rechargeable batteries, single-use batteries, e-bike batteries, and even damaged ones. Use the locator on their website to find the nearest bin.
Home Depot and Lowe’s. Home Depot battery recycling and Lowe’s battery recycling both run through that same network, with a free collection bin near the store entrance. These bins take rechargeable batteries only, up to 11 pounds each, so they are the place for an old drill pack or a phone battery, not your spent AAs.
Staples. Staples accepts single-use alkaline and lithium batteries as well as rechargeables, handed in at the counter. That makes it one of the few retail options for everyday AA and AAA cells. There is a $2.99 fee per visit, not per battery, except in California, Illinois, Minnesota, New York, and Vermont, where it is free. Our Staples recycling guide has the details.
Best Buy. Best Buy does not take loose batteries in most states. Small rechargeable batteries are accepted only in California and New York. It is still a strong option for the devices those batteries live inside, from phones to laptops, as explained in our Best Buy recycling guide. For a closer look at how the big retail programs compare, see our breakdown of Best Buy, Staples, and ecoATM.
Programs and limits vary by location, so it is worth a quick check of the store’s policy or the online locator before you load up the car.
Where to Recycle: Quick Comparison
| Option | Single-use alkaline | Rechargeable and lithium | Good to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local e-waste or hazardous waste center | Usually | Yes | Best for mixed piles and anything damaged |
| The Battery Network locator | Often | Yes | More than 20,000 drop-off points nationwide |
| Staples | Yes | Yes | $2.99 per visit in most states |
| Home Depot / Lowe’s | No | Yes, up to 11 lbs | Bins near the entrance, rechargeable only |
| Best Buy | No | CA and NY only | Takes the devices batteries live in |
Car Batteries and Other Big Batteries
Car batteries are a different animal, and they happen to be the easiest of all to recycle. Lead-acid batteries are the most recycled consumer product in the country, with about 99 percent of them recovered and turned back into new batteries. You should never throw one in the trash, and most places will not let you.
Almost any auto parts store will take your old car battery for free, and several will pay you a little for it. AutoZone recycles them at no charge and gives a $10 store credit if you are not buying a replacement, and it cancels the core charge on the spot when you swap in a new one. Advance Auto Parts runs a similar “Battery Bounty” program that hands back a gift card worth up to $10 for a returned battery. The same stores usually accept motorcycle, lawn tractor, and marine batteries too.
Bigger rechargeable batteries from e-bikes and electric vehicles have their own take-back routes, often through the retailer or manufacturer that sold them. The Battery Network locator lists e-bike drop-off points, and our look at how EV batteries get a second life covers where those large packs end up.
How to Prep Your Batteries for Drop-Off
A few minutes of prep keeps everyone downstream safe, and most drop-off points ask for it.
Tape the terminals on anything with a fire risk. Cover the ends of every 9-volt, every lithium battery (both the rechargeable kind and single-use lithium), and any button or coin cell with a piece of clear packing tape. Clear tape still lets the recycler read the label. The tape stops the terminals from touching metal or another battery and sparking. Plain AA and AAA alkaline cells do not need taping, but it never hurts.
Bag anything swollen or damaged separately. A battery that has puffed up, leaked, or cracked, sometimes called a “spicy pillow,” is the most likely to catch fire. Put it in its own sealable plastic bag and tell the drop-off staff, or take it to a center that lists damaged batteries as accepted.
Store them in plastic or cardboard, not a metal tin. While your batteries wait for their trip, keep them in a plastic tub or a cardboard box, away from anything metal like paper clips, keys, or loose change. A coffee can or an old cookie tin is exactly what you do not want.
Leave sealed-in batteries in the device. For a phone, laptop, or vape with a battery you cannot easily remove, leave it in place and recycle the whole device. Prying out a glued-in lithium pouch is how punctures and fires happen. If you are recycling a computer, our guide to recycling an old computer or laptop walks through the rest.
Finding a Drop-Off Near You
The fastest way to clear out that battery drawer is to search your city on RecycleOldTech.com and find a nearby center, then check whether it takes loose household batteries or points you to a retail bin for them. Each listing shows what a facility accepts, its hours, and how to reach it.
The main thing is to stop letting a bag of dead batteries sit in a drawer for years, and to keep the lithium ones out of the trash while they wait. Sort them by type, tape the risky ones, and drop them off. For the other awkward and heavy items that pile up alongside them, our guide to hard-to-recycle tech covers what to do.
Quick Answers
Can I throw away AA and AAA batteries? In most states, plain single-use alkaline AA and AAA batteries can legally go in household trash, because they no longer contain added mercury. California and some local programs require recycling instead, and recycling is always the better choice. Rechargeable and lithium AA cells should never be trashed.
Where can I recycle batteries near me? Search your city on RecycleOldTech.com for a nearby center, or use a retail drop-off. Staples takes everyday single-use batteries, while Home Depot and Lowe’s take rechargeables for free. The Battery Network locator maps more than 20,000 points nationwide.
Does Home Depot recycle batteries? Yes. Home Depot keeps a battery bin near the entrance that accepts rechargeable batteries up to 11 pounds, including power-tool packs. It does not take single-use alkaline AA or AAA cells, so bring those to Staples or a local center.
Does Staples recycle batteries? Yes, and it is one of the few retailers that takes single-use alkaline and lithium batteries along with rechargeables. There is a $2.99 fee per visit except in California, Illinois, Minnesota, New York, and Vermont.
Does Lowe’s recycle batteries? Yes. Lowe’s has the same kind of free bin as Home Depot near the entrance, for rechargeable batteries up to 11 pounds.
How do I dispose of lithium batteries? Tape the terminals, bag any damaged ones separately, and take them to a drop-off: Home Depot or Lowe’s for rechargeable lithium-ion packs, Staples or a local hazardous waste center for single-use lithium cells. Never put them in the trash or curbside recycling.
Why can’t lithium batteries go in the trash? A damaged or crushed lithium battery can overheat and catch fire without any spark. Thrown in the trash or a curbside bin, it gets compacted and has started thousands of fires in trucks and recycling facilities. Always take lithium and rechargeable batteries to a drop-off.
How do I recycle a swollen phone or laptop battery? Do not puncture it or pull it out if it is sealed in. Put the device or the loose battery in a plastic bag and take it to a center that accepts damaged batteries. A swollen battery is a fire hazard and should not sit in a drawer.
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