Be battery safety smart
Improper battery disposal has caused an increased number of fires in New Jersey recycling centers, waste facilities and garbage trucks, resulting in millions of dollars in damage and endangering lives. Please do your part to prevent battery fires, keep people and property safe, and do good for the planet. Batteries often contain toxic substances such as mercury, lead, cadmium, or lithium. If improperly disposed, these substances can leak into the environment, contaminating soil, water, and air.
- Batteries, particularly but not exclusively lithium-ion batteries, present significant challenges for recycling and disposal due to the potential for hazardous reactions.
- To ensure safety and sustainability, batteries must be handled with specialized care through designated take-back programs, which facilitate proper collection, transport and recycling and a safe end-of-life outcome.
- Batteries should never be placed in household waste or curbside recycling bins. Improper disposal can result in fires, posing serious risks to consumers, waste and recycling workers, and critical infrastructure.
Have you seen Battery Billboards throughout the County?
Batteries can be identified by examining the battery, which should include a description and seal color.
This guide can help you identify batteries and determine proper disposal options.
You can research battery recycling drop-off locations near you by using the Call2Recycle drop-off locator: call2recycle.org/locator.
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Locally, many Home Depot, Staples and Lowes stores accept rechargeable, single-use and cell phone batteries. Other batteries can be accepted at the SCIA Convenience Center, or you may bring them to SCIA’s bi-annual Household Hazardous Waste Collection Days held in April and October. More information about our HHW Collection events can be found on our website.
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