Battery Recycling
How to recycle batteries. It’s easy!
To dispose of your batteries appropriately, please bring them along to any Rangitīkei District Council waste transfer station or library for recycling. This includes car batteries, laptop and cellphone batteries, household batteries and cordless power tool batteries. Some fees and charges may apply.
There are Waste Transfer Stations in: Bulls, Hunterville, Mangaweka, Marton, Rātana and Taihape.
Library locations:
- Taihape Library - 102 Hautapu Street, Taihape (Temporary location)
- Marton Library - 31 High Street, Marton
- Bulls Whare Ako - Learning Hub - 4 Criterion Street, Bulls
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.
Batteries accepted 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.
Battery Heavens
Look for our Battery Heaven collection buckets at our waste transfer stations and libraries!
Simply bring your old batteries into one of our libraries or closest waste transfer station and deposit them in the collection bucket at the designated area. Then, our recycling partner E-Cycle will manage the collection and recycling process.
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.
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.
Tips to stop waste batteries from becoming dangerous.
- Try to use rechargeable batteries instead of single-use ones where possible - this reduces the number of batteries that are discarded.
- Try to sell or donate working, but unwanted, battery-powered electronic items instead of throwing them away.
- Never put batteries in your general rubbish bin or recycle them with other recyclable materials.
- If you can safely remove a battery from a product, the battery should always be disposed of separately using a battery collection service.