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Battery Recycling

In the United Kingdom, we throw away over 600 million batteries every year. The main method of disposal for batteries is sending them to landfill sites, which are rapidly running out of space.

We currently recycle about one tonne of Rushcliffe household batteries each month.

Put your used household batteries in any bag and leave it on the top of any colour bin on any collection date. 

  • Simply place your used or unwanted batteries - including AAA, AA, C and D size household batteries as well as button, mobile phone, laptop and rechargeable batteries in this bag.
  • Please DO NOT OVERFILL this bag.
  • Place bag on any of your bins on collection day and our collectors will remove it and leave you a new bag.
  • For more information about household battery recycling please call our customers services centre on 0115 981 9911.

We can recycle the following types of household batteries:

  • AAA
  • AA
  • C
  • D
  • Button batteries
  • Mobile telephone batteries
  • Laptop batteries
  • Accumulators (rechargeable batteries).

We can't accept car batteries or any batteries with gel or acid inside them.

How to store your batteries for safe recycling

Batteries are made from many different materials including lithium-ion (used in laptop batteries), zinc (used in AA batteries) and nickel cadmium (used in power tool batteries); all are recycled into their component parts.

The recovered materials can be used to manufacture new batteries and electronics; they can also be used in the steel industry and even in paint production.

  1. Store your batteries away from children and pets. Many batteries contain hazardous materials.
  2. Keep your batteries in a cool dry place. If your battery becomes corroding or overheated they could leak or rupture.
  3. Tape up the terminals and any wires of your batteries. Dead batteries sometimes hold a small charge, fires can result from batteries coming into contact with conductive materials like other batteries.
  4. Store used batteries in a plastic container (like our battery bag) or cardboard box. Storing batteries in a non-conductive container will reduce the risk of fire, leakage or rupture.
  5. Do not store different types of batteries together. Try to store different batteries separately before placing them out for collection.

Recycling