By the Bin Night Tonight team · Updated July 2026
Batteries are the one item where the rule has no exceptions: no battery goes in any kerbside bin, ever. Not the red bin, not the yellow bin. The good news is that Australia has a free national drop off scheme, and the drop off point is probably somewhere you already shop.
Lithium batteries that get crushed in a collection truck or compacted at a sorting facility can short circuit and ignite, and battery fires are now the leading cause of fires in Australian waste facilities and trucks. Fire services attend thousands of battery related waste fires each year, and a single vape battery can write off a truck.
Even old style alkaline batteries leak heavy metals into landfill, and every battery contains recoverable materials. The steel, zinc, lithium, cobalt and nickel inside can be recovered at high rates when batteries reach a proper processor instead of a compactor.
B-cycle is Australia’s official battery recycling scheme, funded by a levy on battery imports, and drop off is free. Collection tubs sit at the entrance of most major supermarkets and hardware stores: Woolworths, Coles, Aldi, Bunnings and Officeworks all host drop off points, along with many council facilities and libraries. The B-cycle website has a locator, but in practice most people are within a few minutes of a tub.
Standard drop offs accept household batteries: AA, AAA, C, D, 9 volt, button cells and phone or laptop lithium batteries. Larger items like power tool packs and e-bike or scooter batteries are accepted at a smaller set of locations, often Bunnings or council transfer stations, because they need extra fire handling.
Before dropping batteries off, put a piece of clear sticky tape over the terminals of anything lithium and over both ends of 9 volt batteries. Loose batteries knocking together in a collection tub can still short circuit, and taping terminals is the single step the scheme asks of households. Store them in a glass jar or a container out of reach of children in the meantime, especially button batteries, which are a serious swallowing hazard for toddlers.
A growing share of battery fires come from products with batteries sealed inside: vapes, cheap earbuds, light up toys, electric toothbrushes. These cannot go in any kerbside bin either, for exactly the same reason.
Vapes are the worst offender. Many councils and some pharmacies now host dedicated vape disposal units, and community recycling centres accept them. Devices like phones, tablets and laptops belong in e-waste collection rather than battery tubs; the battery is recovered as part of the device. If the battery is removable, take it out and drop it with the batteries; if it is sealed, treat the whole item as e-waste.
Lead acid car batteries are one of the most recycled products in the country, with recovery rates above 95 percent. Auto parts retailers accept them free, many scrap dealers pay a few dollars for them, and council transfer stations take them. They must never go in a kerbside bin or be left on the kerb.
No. A single crushed lithium battery can start a truck fire. Volume does not change the risk. Keep a jar at home and drop the batteries off next time you are at a supermarket or Bunnings.
No. B-cycle drop off points are free for households, funded by a levy on battery importers. Larger batteries like power tool packs are also free at participating locations.
Handle it gently, do not puncture or press it, and get it to a battery drop off or community recycling centre promptly. Do not store a swollen battery in a hot car or drawer, and never put it in a bin.