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Batteries

Last update 11/06/07

Recycle or dispose of batteries as Universal Waste except for spent (used) lead-acid batteries.

Spent lead acid batteries may continue to be managed under reduced dangerous waste requirements as long as they are recycled according to the requirements of the Dangerous Waste Regulations at WAC 173-303-520.

Dangerous metals and acids are contained within the battery's casing and pose no real risks while the battery is in use. One the casing is broken or opened the dangerous materials within can escape. Lead, mercury, cadmium and other elemental metals that are disposed in municipal solid waste landfills or incinerators do not disappear. They can end up in the water and soil around landfills, and in incinerator air emissions or ash waste.

Single-use Batteries

  • Lead acid batteries are typically automotive batteries or small batteries for electronic applications such as emergency lighting, security and alarm systems, computer backup devices, and hospital equipment.They use lead dioxide and metallic lead (D008). The electrolyte is a dilute mixture of sulfuric acid (WSC2) that provides the sulfate ion for the discharge reactions.
  • Alkaline batteries all contained potassium hydroxide, a corrosive (WSC2), in concentrations up to 20%. Some also reported mercury at 0.5% to 1.0% (D009). Some alkaline batteries are sold as 'mercury free'. 
  • Zinc-Carbon batteries are the ordinary D cell flashlight battery. MSDS information reported varying amounts of mercury and potassium hydroxide (WSC2). Lead (D008) was reported on two MSDS.
  • Silver Oxide batteries would designate as hazardous wastes with potassium hydroxide (WSC2) at up to 8% concentration, silver oxide at up to 45% (D011), and some with mercury (D009) up to 1%.
  • Mercuric Oxide batteries contained mercury, mercuric oxide (D009), potassium hydroxide and/or sodium hydroxide (WSC2).
  • Lithium batteries contain lithium.  Lithium reacts with air or water to produce fire and/or an explosion (D003).
  • Nickel-Cadmium batteries contain large amounts of cadmium and cadmium salts (D006 federal toxicity characteristic). They also contain large amounts of potassium hydroxide and/or sodium hydroxide (WSC2), nickel, cobalt and lithium salts (D003).

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Rechargeable Batteries

  • 80 % of rechargeable batteries are nickel-cadmium (known as "Ni-Cd"). Ni-Cd rechargeable batteries are commonly found in cellular and cordless telephones, video cameras, portable power tools, and laptop computers.
  • Small rechargeable sealed lead acid batteries are used in cellular phones, laptop computers, and power tools.

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Possible Dangerous Waste Codes

Possible dangerous waste codes for batteries:

  • WSC2 (Washington State solid corrosive characteristic)
  • D003 (federal reactive characteristic) dangerous waste code .
  • D006 (federal toxicity characteristic for cadmium) if there were enough cadmium to leach 1.0 or more milligrams per liter on a Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP) Test. 
  • D008 (federal toxicity characteristic for lead) if there were enough lead to leach 5.0 or more milligrams per liter on a TCLP Test.
  • D009 (federal toxicity characteristic for mercury) if there were enough mercury to leach 0.2 or more milligrams per liter on a TCLP Test.
  • D011 (federal toxicity characteristic for silver) if there were enough silver to leach 5.0 or more milligrams per liter on a TCLP Test.

Ecology believes most batteries would designate as federal or state Dangerous Wastes when discarded. This opinion is based on the information gained from a 1998 MSDS database research project. Batteries cannot be designated without either using manufacturers' information or test results to identify their hazardous constituents. A sample of Material Safety Data Sheets from the University of Vermont and Vermont Safety Information Resources, Inc.'s online MSDS database at http://hazard.com/msds/index.html was reviewed for toxicity information. Several major battery manufacturers were also contacted by telephone.

Material Safety Data Sheets are not actually required of battery manufacturers because they are manufactured "articles" (as defined in OSHA Hazard Communication Standard, Section 1910.1200), which do not result in  exposure (for workers) to a hazardous chemical under normal conditions of use. An excellent source of MSDS information including Frequently Asked Questions and 85 or more resources is Where to Find MSDS on the Internet at http://www.ilpi.com/msds/index.html

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Universal Waste Disposal Option

Either recycle or dispose of batteries as Universal Wastes or as Dangerous Waste.

Follow Washington State's Universal Waste rule instead of the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency's Federal Universal Waste Rule .  The EPA's Office of Solid Waste has a website for the Federal Universal Waste Rule at http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/hazwaste/id/univwast/uwr_fr.pdf

Battery recycling programs prevent lead and mercury contamination from landfills or incineration by taking batteries out of the waste stream. In recycling, the metals are recovered from the used batteries, and the remainder of the product is recycled or discarded.

  • Recycling from old (post-consumer) scrap is the largest source (68% or 1,050 metric tons) of United States lead. Used batteries alone were the source of 62% of the lead consumed in 1999.
  • The average value in 1999 was 44 cents per pound. There are more people employed in secondary smelting/refining (from scrap) than in lead mining and primary smelting/refining.

A list of typical building products containing mercury is available from the Mercury Waste Solutions Inc website: http://www.mercurywastesolutions.com/. Mercury Waste Solutions recycles these items to recover the mercury.

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Lead-Acid Batteries Recycling Option

Lead-acid batteries can be recycled under reduced dangerous waste requirements described in  the Dangerous Waste Regulations at WAC 173-303-520. The reduced requirements allow regulated generators to skip Notification and RCRA Site Identification Numbers for their lead-acid batteries.

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Household Batteries

Batteries generated by homeowners or in residences are not Dangerous Waste due to the Household Hazardous Waste Exclusion.

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