Battery and vape disposal

Putting batteries in your wheelie bin can cause fires

When batteries are thrown away into general waste or recycling bins, they are likely to be crushed and punctured during waste collection and processing.

Some battery types, particularly rechargeable, can ignite or even explode when damaged. Once this happens, the batteries can quickly set fire to other materials present in the waste, such as paper, leading to serious incidents that put lives at risk.

In 2023, we dealt with 10 fires in our collection vehicles.

Every year, people across the UK throw away the equivalent of 22,000 tonnes of batteries. Only a third of these are recycled properly. The rest end up in the rubbish bin or mixed with other recycling.

These batteries are often found in products such as laptops, tablets, mobile phones, toys, power tools, electric toothbrushes, shavers etc.

Watch the video 'Mickey's story - never bin batteries or electrical items' on the Recycle Your Electricals YouTube channel to see what can happen to batteries when disposed of with regular household waste.

How to dispose of batteries and vapes safely

You should always dispose of batteries and vapes separately from other waste.

1. Battery and vape disposal service (kerbside collection) (not flats)

You can put some types of used household batteries and disposable vapes out for collection on the same day as your green or black bin. You must place them in separate plastic bags and put on top of the bin lid. They must not go inside your bin. This is to prevent fires in our collection vehicles.

Please click our drop down box below for more information on our battery and vape disposal service. This includes a list of the types of batteries we accept.

The following guidance relates to the battery and vape collection service. This service is only available to residents with wheelie bins who receive a kerbside collection service.

If you live in a flat using communal bins, please continue to take your batteries and vapes to supermarkets, shops or the Household Recycling Centre. We are working to find a solution for flats.

For residents with wheelie bins who receive a kerbside collection service, please follow the guidance below:

Put your batteries and vapes out for collection on the same day as we empty your green or black bin
Batteries and vapes must not go inside your bin - this can cause fires in our collection vehicles
Place batteries and vapes in separate plastic bags and put these on top of your bin lid - please don't mix them together
If your bin lid is damaged or missing, please let us know via our WasteWorks system
Please don't use the food waste bin liners to put your batteries in - they are for use with the food waste collection service only
Our Collection Team puts the batteries and vapes into a special compartment in the collection vehicle and takes them away for recycling
We will recycle the plastic bags you place the batteries and vapes in, as long as they are not contaminated - e.g. if the battery leaks

Types of batteries and vapes you can put into plastic bags for kerbside collection

All everyday household batteries
Button batteries - e.g. from watches
Batteries from e-cigarettes
Disposable vapes
Broken reusable vapes

Batteries you must take to the Household Recycling Centre

Car batteries
Laptop battery packs
Mobile phone batteries
Power tool batteries
Lighters
Remote control units

You can also take all everyday household batteries, button batteries, batteries from e-cigarettes and disposable and reusable vapes to the Household Recycling Centre.

2. Household Recycling Centre

You can take batteries to our Household Recycling Centre for disposal.

We accept a variety of types of batteries – everyday household batteries, button batteries, e-cigarette batteries, car batteries, laptop battery packs, mobile phone batteries, power tool batteries, lighters and remote control units.

You can also take disposable and reusable vapes to the Household Recycling Centre.

For more information, visit our Household Recycling Centre page.

3. Supermarkets and DIY stores

Shops that sell batteries and vapes should also accept used batteries and vapes.

4. Recycle Your Electricals website

The Recycle Your Electricals website helps you to find the nearest recycling locations for your electrical items, batteries and vapes.

Our work on battery safety

Our Recycling Education Team delivers education in schools about the dangers of electricals, batteries and vapes and the fires they can cause to:

Our bin lorries
Bin Stores
Material recovery facilities (MRF)
Refuse and MRF operatives

We have teamed up with the Community Fire Safety Group Education team to promote a safe use of waste disposal and guidance on waste, especially for communal bin spaces, by advising residents about bulky item collections, the fire risks of waste and the correct disposal of vapes and batteries. As a team, we do mainly this through communications in the form of letters, posters, leaflets, community stands and door to door knocking in our visits.

Visit our recycling education workshops page to find out more information.