Are Batteries Recyclable?

In 2018, the amount of batteries sold by Energizer alone topped $1.6 billion.  With the introduction of handheld electronic devices, people are using more and more household batteries than ever before.

About three billion batteries are sold annually in the United States, which averages out to about 32 per family, or ten per person.

There are many sizes of batteries but all batteries fall into one of only two types: Primary and Secondary.

Dry-cell batteries include alkaline and carbon-zinc (9-volt, D, C, AA, AAA), mercuric-oxide (button, some cylindrical and rectangular), silver-oxide and zinc-air (button), and lithium (9-volt, C, AA, coin, button, rechargeable). They power such things as hearing aids, radios, toys, cellular phones, watches, laptop computers, and portable power tools.



Wet-cell batteries, which contain a liquid electrolyte, commonly power automobiles, boats, or motorcycles.



Since D-cell batteries and smaller do not contain heavy metals, smaller household amounts of these single-use batteries can be thrown right into your regular trash. 

Batteries larger than D-cell, which are also called “wet-cell”, do contain heavy metals such as mercury, lead, cadmium, and nickel, which can contaminate the environment when they are improperly disposed of, they should be taken to a reputable battery recycler.

If you are a Borden Waste-Away customer, you are welcome to put household quantities of D-cell and smaller batteries into your regular trash.

If you are not a Borden Waste-Away customer, contact your local Solid Waste Management District to find out what their requirements are for disposing of smaller household batteries.

For more information visit www.wasteawaygroup.com.