How to Dispose of an Old Car Battery

Take it to a scrap metal yard, a Community Recycling Centre, or a shop that sells car batteries. Never put it in a household bin. At a scrap yard you are paid for it: lead-acid batteries are bought by weight, and close to all of the lead in them is recovered.

Your options

• A scrap metal yard. You are paid for the battery. Bring photo ID, which NSW law requires the yard to record.
• A Community Recycling Centre. Free for household quantities, but you are not paid.
• A battery or auto parts shop. Many take old batteries back, often when you buy a new one.

Never in the bin

A car battery holds sulphuric acid and lead. In a garbage truck or at landfill, the case cracks and both leak out. It is the wrong end for something that is almost entirely recyclable.

Carrying it safely

1. 01Keep it upright, always.
2. 02Stand it in a plastic tub or crate, or on a tray, in case it leaks.
3. 03Wear gloves, and keep it away from your skin and eyes.
4. 04Lift it by the handle or from underneath. It is heavier than it looks.
5. 05If the case is cracked or leaking, tell us before you bring it. A leaking battery may not be accepted.

Which batteries we buy

Lead-acid batteries from cars, trucks, forklifts, boats and solar systems. We do not take lithium-ion batteries, from phones, power tools, e-bikes and home storage: they are a fire risk in a scrap stream. Community Recycling Centres and many battery retailers take those.