Tape the ends of used lithium batteries and take them to a drop-off point

A battery that no longer works feels finished. It is not. Even a used battery can carry enough charge to spark, and the lithium ones inside phones, laptops, vapes, power tools and toys can start a fire if they are crushed or shorted.

Tape over the metal ends of a used lithium or rechargeable battery, or put it in its own plastic bag, and take it to a drop-off point, not the household bin or the recycling.

If you are not sure whether a battery is lithium, treat it as if it is. A bag costs nothing.

This page is for small batteries from phones, laptops, vapes, power tools, toys and remotes. If a battery is swollen, very hot, hissing or smoking right now, go straight to “If a battery swells, heats up or smokes”. If a child may have swallowed a button battery, that is an emergency: see “Button batteries and children”.

Why a dead battery can still start a fire

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says even used batteries can hold enough energy to injure people or start fires. It says lithium-ion batteries in household garbage or recycling bins can be damaged or crushed in transport or in sorting machines, which creates a fire hazard. Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service in England says lithium-ion batteries are a main cause of waste fires, and that they are extremely dangerous when thrown away with general rubbish or mixed in with recyclables such as card, metal and plastic.

The EPA also says fires can start when batteries touch each other or other metals. A recycling programme the EPA points to says a used battery can still spark if its ends touch metal or other batteries.

One person warns never to put steel wool in the same container as loose batteries, because the steel fibres can bridge a battery’s two ends and start a fire. Another says that risk is mostly with fine steel wool and higher-voltage batteries like 9-volts, whose two ends sit on the same face, and that ordinary AA and coin cells are unlikely to set steel wool alight by accident. One person adds that lithium batteries, such as vape batteries, can start a fire if keys or other metal short them. So keep loose batteries away from steel wool, keys and other loose metal.

Which batteries need this

The EPA says lithium-ion batteries are in phones, laptops, tablets, cameras, power tools, children’s toys, e-cigarettes and many appliances. Single-use lithium batteries, in things like cameras, watches, remotes and smoke alarms, can be hard to tell from ordinary alkaline ones. Look for the word “lithium” or “Li-ion” on the battery. The recycling arrows symbol on a lithium-ion battery means it can be recycled at a specialist battery recycler. The EPA says it does not mean it can go in the household recycling bin.

The rules for ordinary AA, AAA and 9-volt batteries differ between countries. In the US, the EPA says that in most communities alkaline and zinc-carbon batteries can be safely put in your household trash, though it recommends sending them to a battery recycler and says to check with your local or state waste authority. In the UK, GOV.UK says batteries and electrical products carry a crossed-out wheelie bin symbol, which means they should not go in your household rubbish, and that the ends of lithium batteries should ideally be taped before you drop them off.

For 9-volt batteries, an EPA guide for collection sites says to tape the ends of a damaged one with clear tape, to reduce the risk of sparking. One person says taping is recommended for lithium batteries and for anything bigger than a 9-volt, and is often unnecessary for small alkaline cells. A 9-volt battery has both ends on the same face, so one piece of metal can touch both. This page treats it like a lithium battery: a bag or a strip of tape costs almost nothing.

How to make a battery safe to store and carry

The EPA says to cover the metal ends (the terminals) with tape that is not made of metal. Electrical tape is best, but any adhesive tape that is not metallic will work. Or put each battery in its own plastic bag, which also keeps the ends apart. For a button or coin battery, the EPA says the tape can go over the ends or around the whole battery. Some people say the same: tape, bag or separate the ends to stop short circuits, especially on lithium and larger cells.

One person says some recyclers do not want tape, because it can hide the label. A separate bag hides nothing. The recycling programme the EPA points to adds that if you use tape that is not clear, you should keep the battery’s label visible.

Keep the bagged batteries in a plastic tub in a cool, dry place, as the US Fire Administration advises, away from heat and anything that burns, and out of children’s reach.

Where to take them

In the US, the EPA says lithium-ion batteries should go to separate recycling or household hazardous waste collection points. Its “Used Household Batteries” page links to two search tools for finding one near you. Some people say phone repair shops and hardware stores often take used batteries, free or for a small fee. One person says to call ahead, because not every branch offers it, and another that the battery boxes at home improvement stores are for lithium-ion batteries, not AA or AAA.

In the UK, GOV.UK says you can take most waste batteries to a local supermarket or another big shop nearby that sells a lot of batteries, where there should be a collection point. Batteries that are built into a device, such as a calculator or an e-cigarette, are treated as electrical waste, which you can take to a household waste recycling centre.

Not every area has an easy option. One person says access depends on local government and geography, and that rural areas may have none. If you cannot find one, ask your local waste or household hazardous waste service, and keep the batteries bagged in the tub until you can. The EPA says not to put lithium-ion batteries in the trash or recycling bin.

If a battery swells, heats up or smokes

Swelling means the battery is damaged. The EPA says it is a potential fire hazard. London Fire Brigade says other warning signs are a battery that is extremely hot to the touch, lumps, leaking or damage to its casing, hissing or cracking sounds, and strong chemical smells.

If there is no smoke or fire, London Fire Brigade says to stop charging at once, turn the device off and unplug it, leave the casing alone and do not tamper with it, and contact the maker or a certified technician. The EPA says that if there is no imminent threat of fire, you can contact the maker, the shop where you bought it or your local household hazardous waste programme for directions. Until then, it says to keep the battery or device somewhere safe: a bucket of sand or cat litter, or another place away from things that burn. The EPA says that if you think a fire is about to start, you may need to call 911.

If it smokes or catches fire, the US Fire Administration and London Fire Brigade both say: get out, call 911 or 999, and do not try to put it out yourself. The US Fire Administration also says to unplug a device that feels noticeably hot while charging.

Charging, and what the fire services say

Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service says lithium-ion batteries are safe in normal use, and are a fire risk when overcharged, short-circuited, soaked or damaged. London Fire Brigade says to use the charger that came with the device, or a genuine branded replacement from a supplier you trust, and not to charge at very high or low temperatures. Some people say the same about not charging a battery that is extremely hot or cold: let it come to room temperature first.

People split on how much charging in bed matters. One person says the odds of a fire are tiny. Another says a hard surface costs nothing, so the small risk is not worth taking. One person who says they are a firefighter has attended only one fire like that, and says cheap, low-quality batteries and vapes are a separate, higher risk. A hard surface, an uncovered charger and unplugging when the battery is full are the free answer the fire services give.

Button batteries and children

Button and coin batteries are the flat, round ones in watches, key fobs, remotes, hearing aids and toys. The UK government says a swallowed button battery can badly injure or kill a child, that symptoms may not be obvious, and that larger lithium coin cells are the most dangerous. The US Consumer Product Safety Commission says a button battery can burn through a child’s throat in as little as two hours. The UK government says to store spare button batteries securely, not loose in drawers or on surfaces, and that dead ones can still badly hurt a small child, so when you take one out, store it securely and recycle it promptly. The Commission says to put tape over the ends, or around the whole battery, as soon as you take it out, and the EPA says to keep them out of the reach of young children.

If a child may have swallowed one, do not wait for symptoms. In the US, the Commission says to seek medical attention immediately and to call the National Battery Ingestion Hotline on 1-800-498-8666 or Poison Help on 1-800-222-1222 at once; the National Capital Poison Center says not to make the child vomit. The Commission says to give a child aged 12 months or older 2 teaspoons (10 mL) of honey every 10 minutes on the way to the emergency room, if the battery was swallowed in the past 12 hours. It says to give no more than six doses and not to delay the trip for honey. The Poison Center adds: only if the child can swallow, and other than honey, nothing to eat or drink until an X-ray. Honey is not safe for a baby under 1. In the UK, the government says to take the child straight to the nearest A&E or call 999, even if there are no symptoms, and not to let them eat or drink or make them sick.

Who this page is not for

It is not for a battery that is already swollen, hot or smoking: that needs the steps above, not a drop-off trip. It is not for car batteries, e-bike or e-scooter packs or home battery systems, which are larger jobs for the maker or the dealer. And it does not cover cleaning up a leak: there is a page here called Take the batteries out before you put it away for batteries that have leaked inside a stored device.