Battery Heaven - recycle drop offs.

Simply bring your old batteries into one of our libraries or closest waste transfer station and look for one of our Battery Heaven buckets to deposit them into. Then, our recycling partner E-Cycle will manage the collection and recycling process.

Why recycle batteries?

Council is committed to finding ways to reduce waste and our district impact on the environment. Batteries contain harmful chemicals and heavy metals that can
pollute the environment. When batteries are recycled these metals can be recovered and used again.

The dangers of used batteries

Used batteries thrown away in the general rubbish, or mixed with other recyclable materials like card, metals and plastics, can be very dangerous. When your general rubbish or recycling is collected, any used batteries hiding in it are unintentionally likely to be squashed, compacted, punctured, shredded or soaked in liquids. When this happens, some types of battery can get very hot or ignite, resulting in fires that put lives at risk; cause millions of dollars of damage; and disrupt your waste services.Even if they don’t cause a fire, if damaged, these dead batteries contain chemicals and materials that can harm the environment if they aren’t disposed of responsibly.

Batteries we accept for recycling

• AA, AAA, C, D, 9V, 6V
• Power tool batteries
• Button cell batteries
• Other handheld-sized batteries that fit into the collection unit slot

We cannot accept lead acid batteries, car batteries, products with embedded batteries or other batteries that do not fit into the battery collection unit slot. Contamination from unaccepted battery types or other forms of waste in our recycling unit can be a hazard for our team and other users. Please ask our staff if you’re unsure whether your batteries can be accepted.

Batteries with tape on the top

We ask that you tape your batteries before placing them in the bucket, as used batteries may still contain residual charge that can create a spark, leading to a potential fire hazard. Preventing this is as simple as using clear sticky tape, non-conductive electrical tape, or duct tape over the exposed battery terminal, or on the top and bottom face for button cell batteries. Please be mindful to keep the battery label information visible if you’re not using clear tape.

Where can you recycle your batteries at?

• Taihape Library
  102 Hautapu Street, Taihape
• Marton Library
  31 High Street, Marton
• Bulls Whare Ako - Learning Hub
  4 Criterion Street, Bulls
• Also at our Waste Transfer Stations in Bulls, Hunterville, Mangaweka, Marton, Rātana and Taihape.