Single-use household batteries should never be thrown in the general garbage or recycling bin because they contain hazardous chemicals and materials, such as lead, mercury, cadmium, and lithium, which can be harmful to the environment and human health AND if not disposed of properly, batteries can explode or ignite fires in garbage trucks or waste facilities.
Alkaline (non-rechargeable) batteries are included in our province-wide recycling program provided by Call2Recycle. Batteries can be returned to participating retail stores, as well as some recycling depots and transfer stations.
Types of batteries accepted include consumer batteries used in items such as toys, remotes, flashlights and smoke detectors. Technical terms for these would be alkaline (AA, AAA, 9V), rechargeable (Ni-Cd, Ni-MH, Li-Ion), button cells, carbon zinc, lithium primary and small seal lead acid batteries.
What batteries can be recycled?
Recycle Your Batteries, Canada! manages the collection and recycling of single-use and rechargeable dry-cell household batteries (weighing up to 5 kg each). This includes e-mobility batteries used on devices such as e-bikes and e-scooters.
Not sure what type of batteries you have?
To learn about the different types of batteries that can be recycled and find the nearest recycling depot that accepts these batteries, visit: Recycle Your Batteries Canada!