Safely disposing of household batteries is good for the home and good for the environment. Dead batteries can leak heavy metals into soil and water once they reach the landfill. They can also overheat and cause fires in garbage trucks and recycling centers. So don't throw them in your household trash or recycling bin. Look for a city or state drop-off site instead, or use The Battery Network website to search for a drop-off location by ZIP code. Safely recycling a battery doesn’t cancel out the environmental cost of making it. But it does give the battery’s components their best chance at becoming something new.
