Can batteries be disposed of in regular trash?
It depends on the type of battery. Some contain mercury, cadmium and/or lead and should be recycled. Vehicle lead-acid wet cell batteries should be returned to the retailer or taken to a waste collection site. Mercuric oxide, nickel cadmium and silver oxide button batteries should be recycled. Alkaline, lithium and zinc-air button batteries may be thrown in the trash. Rechargeable alkaline batteries, too. All other rechargeable batteries (lead-acid or gel cell, nickel cadmium, lithium ion, nickel metal hydride and small sealed lead less than 2 lbs. should be recycled. Nonrechargeable silver oxide batteries should be recycled. All others (alkaline, lithium less than 9 volt and carbon zinc) may be thrown in the trash. Do caps and lids need to be removed from plastic containers before recycling? Yes. While some lids are recyclable, others are not. The container and lid are not always made from the same material. For a selection of LSS recycling containers, click here.
