Batteries

Important battery safety

All types of batteries are dangerous and have the potential to start a fire. They also contain toxic liquids and metals.

Batteries should never go in any of your household bins.

Tape your terminals

To prevent batteries from sparking and catching fire, tape your terminals. Taping with clear sticky tape is recommended for safety when you're storing used batteries at home or dropping them off for recycling.

Where you need to tape will depend on where the battery's terminals are. Some common examples are listed below.

Where to dispose of batteries

Here are some easy ways to safely dispose of your batteries for free:

• Visit the B-Cycle website to find a battery drop-off point near you.
  Most major supermarkets, Bunnings and Officeworks stores accept common household batteries for recycling.
• Our Community Recycling Centre accepts:
  • Loose household and car batteries
  • Batteries from vapes, if removed from vaping equipment
  • E-waste that has embedded batteries, like mobile phones and laptops.
• Our Community Recycling Stations are available at selected libraries and the Council Administration Building. You can put common household batteries in these stations (button batteries, AAA, AA, C, D and 9-volt).

For larger or more specialist batteries, like e-bike, power tool or electric lawn mower batteries, you may need to take them to a specialist battery store to dispose of them safely.

Embedded batteries

Many rechargeable household items have built-in, or embedded, batteries. This includes electric toothbrushes, bluetooth speakers, hand-held vacuum cleaners and more.

Embedded batteries can't be easily removed, and items with embedded batteries usually have multiple electrical parts, which makes them difficult to dispose of safely.

You should never put items with embedded batteries in your household bins, as they contain harmful chemicals and could start a fire.

Embedded batteries recycling trial

We're partnering with the NSW EPA on a trial to accept products with embedded batteries at our Community Recycling Centre (CRC). The trial will run until September 2026.

Common items with embedded batteries that can be recycled through the CRC include:

• Bluetooth speakers and headphones
• Electric toothbrushes
• E-scooters, e-bikes and hover boards
• Flashing and light-up rechargeable toys
• Personal care devices (eg shavers)
• Powerpacks and portable charging devices
• Remote controlled and ride-on toys
• Cordless hand-held or robotic vacuum cleaners
• Vapes
• Wearable devices like smart watches, trackers and medical aids.

Please note:

• If any of the above items have batteries that can be easily removed, please only bring the loose batteries for recycling.
• If you have an item not listed above, please Ask a Waste expert before bringing it for recycling
• Mobile phones with embedded batteries can be separately recycled through the CRC or Mobile Muster program.
• You can also recycle many electronic household items through our e-waste program.