Car Battery Disposal

Old and used car batteries are a form of battery waste. They also typically class as a type of hazardous waste – as most batteries contain various corrosive materials, such as sulphuric acid, and heavy metals like lead. There are different types of car batteries, including alkaline batteries (non-hazardous) and mercury batteries (hazardous).

The most common type of car batteries are lead-acid or lithium-ion batteries. Generally, most vehicles today use lithium-ion batteries. These are a form of non-hazardous waste but can be flammable and present a risk of explosion. They’re made from different materials:

• Lithium-ion batteries – lithium-Ion batteries are typically made from carbon, graphite, lithium salt, and metal oxide.
• Lead-acid batteries – lead-acid batteries are made from lead peroxide, sponge lead, and sulphuric acid.

To dispose of a car battery from your personal vehicle you can often get rid of it when buying a new battery. Garages and auto shops such as Halfords may take your old car battery off you for responsible disposal. You can also dispose of a car battery at some household waste recycling centres (HWRCs) and scrap metal facilities.

As car batteries class as hazardous waste they must legally not be thrown away in household general waste or recycling bins.

If you run a garage or other type of automotive company, you’re responsible for disposing of car batteries properly once they’re no longer usable. This is different from getting rid of a car battery as an individual. Therefore, you should:

• Ensure all used car batteries are stored in suitable bins or containers on your premises and segregated from other waste materials.
• Arrange collection of your old car batteries by a licensed carrier. They’ll safely and legally transport them to an appropriate recycling facility for proper disposal.

You can sometimes recycle car batteries through your vehicle manufacturer or the garage where you purchased the vehicle. Car battery recycling is also common at scrap metal facilities and some household waste recycling centres (HWRCs) across the UK. You may need to use a hazardous waste disposal service in certain areas, due to the nature of old car batteries.

Electric car batteries can be recycled as they’re usually lithium-ion batteries. However, it’s a more complex process than other batteries as lithium is highly reactive. The purity of the metals they contain can also deteriorate over time, so they can’t be recycled indefinitely.

Dedicated recycling processes are being developed to improve the process for recycling electric car batteries as the market for electric vehicles is expected to grow. The old lithium batteries are discharged before undergoing mechanical and chemical processes to separate the materials.

Find out more about recycling lithium-ion batteries.

Disposing of electric car batteries should be done through the vehicle manufacturer. Most EV manufacturers offer schemes to collect old electric car batteries and recycle them. Other options to dispose of an electric car battery include asking your local garage or arranging commercial battery waste collections for business vehicles.

Electric car batteries should always be recycled, never sent to a landfill. Some EV batteries can be reused but those that have lost 30% or more of their original capacity will be recycled. The process involves removing valuable materials such as lithium, nickel, manganese, and cobalt for reuse.

When recycling lead-acid batteries, the batteries are first broken down. Then they’re neutralised in acid, which allows for materials such as lead to be extracted. The extracted materials are used to create new batteries.

The process for recycling lithium-ion batteries is a little different. Old lithium-ion car batteries are first crushed, which makes sorting through the different materials easier. It also allows for recovery of any electrolytes. After crushing, any reusable materials are extracted and prepared for reuse.

If sent to landfill sites, car batteries could be considered responsible for an increase in pollution levels. As they degrade, they will release several dangerous chemicals into the surrounding ground and atmosphere. Recycling both lithium-ion batteries and lead-acid batteries is vital to prevent this.

There are various initiatives in place to ensure old car batteries are recycled. As a result, it’s predicted that 98% of car batteries are recycled – meaning very few are sent to landfill sites.

A few facts about recycling car batteries are that:

• According to a recent study, nearly 99 million car batteries are manufactured annually.
• Due to their high recycling rate, car batteries are considered one of the most recycled consumer products in the world.
• 90% of the materials used in a single battery can be recycled.
• Around 74% of UK adults have a valid licence, so it’s clear that we produce large volumes of battery waste each year.

Explore more battery waste facts.

Many car manufacturers and garages will take your old vehicle battery off your hands when it’s dead or you want to buy a new car. They’re then responsible for recycling the batteries. Alternatively, you can take them to local recycling centres or even scrap companies for free.

Lithium-Ion batteries are manufactured similarly to other types of batteries. Active materials are mixed with polymers, conductive additives, and solvents until they form a slurry (a mixture of dense solids suspended in water). The slurry is then coated with foil and dried to remove the solvent.