Guidance on recycling, reusing, and disposing of batteries safely.
Disposing of batteries
Batteries should not be thrown in the grey, red or green bins because they may contain harmful chemicals like lead or mercury. If these chemicals end up in landfill and could leak into the ground, which can cause soil and water pollution and pose a health risk for humans.
The three R’s for battery disposal
Instead of throwing batteries in the bin, use the three R’s - reduce, reuse and recycle - to conserve natural resources and energy, save landfill space, and protect our environment.
Reduce
- Use mains electric where possible.
- Use up available batteries before buying more as batteries can lose their charge if stored too long.
Reuse
- Buy rechargeable batteries to save money in the long term. Each rechargeable battery may substitute for hundreds of single-use batteries, and can also be recycled.
Recycle
- Take batteries to the Chalvey Household Waste Recycling Centre.
- Check if your local library accept batteries.
- Find your nearest battery collection box outlet.
- For non-rechargeable batteries, seek guidance on how to recycle them from the distributor who originally supplied the battery, the battery manufacturer or the appliance manufacturer.
- If a shop has a "Be Positive" sign, this means they have a battery collection point. You can take your batteries there to be recycled.
What types of batteries can be recycled
Most types of batteries can be recycled:
- all AAA and AA cells
- size C and D
- button batteries (e.g. watch or hearing aid batteries)
- mobile phone and laptop batteries
- power tool batteries
- car batteries (can be recycled at garages or scrap metal facilities).