Batteries require special care and cannot be disposed of with your household waste because of the different kinds of toxins they contain. Regular alkaline batteries are not considered hazardous waste because they no longer contain mercury, so you can place these batteries with your regular trash. According to the EPA, Americas throw out approximately 179,000 tons of batteries each year. However, it is illegal to discard rechargeable batteries or lead-acid batteries in the trash.

See below for city-specific guidelines and other resources for your battery disposal.

Resources for Battery Disposal

There are many places where you can recycle batteries. Explore the options below to find the easiest and safest way to dispose of your batteries:

• Visit the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation for a complete list of locations where you can recycle rechargeable batteries.

• For batteries that are too large to be recycled as rechargeables, try one of these manufacturer-take-back programs:

• ATBatt.com

• Exide

• IBM

• All retailers that sell lead-acid batteries must accept up to two batteries per month per person for recycling free of charge.

City Specific Guidelines for Battery Disposal

Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Fort Worth, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, New York City, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Portland San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, St. Louis, Washington D.C.