Batteries

Some councils collect as part of your household collection service but in most areas you will need to take them to a recycling centre or a collection point in a supermarket, a DIY centre or even your local shop.

Did you know?

From February 2010, shops selling more than 32kg of batteries a year (approx 345 x four-packs of AA batteries) have to provide battery recycling collection facilities in-store.  This means there are now lots more places where you can take your old batteries for recycling. If you can't see a collection box, ask the shop assistant if they have one - sometimes (in smaller shops) they keep it behind the counter.

What types of batteries can I recycle?

• All household batteries including 'button' batteries from watches
• Battery packs from laptops, mobile phones, power tools and remote control units (put electrical tape over the terminals)
• Although car batteries can be recycled, they should be taken to a designated collection point and not recycled with household batteries in shops

For health and safety advice on batteries, visit BatteryBack for more information.

What else can I do?

• Use rechargeable batteries wherever possible - you can even buy a solar powered recharger!
• Plug electrical equipment into the mains electricity
• Try to buy appliances that use renewable energy - a wind-up radio or torch, dynamo bicycle lights or a solar powered calculator