How do I dispose of or recycle old tools and batteries?

Batteries in bins start fires, and it is a large and growing problem. Everything here has a straightforward correct route, and most of them are free.

Safety

Step by step

1. Never bin lithium batteries.They ignite when crushed and cause hundreds of fires a year in bin lorries and waste plants. This includes cordless tool packs, and it includes anything with a battery sealed inside it.
2. Use supermarket collection for household batteries.AA, AAA, button cells. Almost every large supermarket has a collection box near the entrance and any shop selling significant quantities of batteries must provide one.
3. Take tool battery packs to a household waste site.They have a designated battery point. Many tool retailers also take them back, and some run trade-in schemes.
4. Tape the terminals.Clear tape over the contacts of any loose battery before storing or transporting it. Terminals touching each other or metal in a container is a common ignition cause.
5. Treat a damaged battery as urgent.Swollen, hot, leaking, hissing, or dropped hard. Move it outdoors onto something non-flammable, away from the building, and take it to a household waste site promptly. Do not charge it or store it indoors.
6. Use the retailer take-back for electricals.Retailers selling electrical goods must take an equivalent old item when you buy a new one, and larger stores often take small items regardless. It costs nothing.
7. Sell or donate anything that works.Tools hold value well. Local selling sites, tool-specific groups, Men's Sheds, community workshops, schools and repair cafés all take working tools, and it is a better outcome than recycling.
8. Try repair before disposal.Brushes, switches and cables are cheap. A repair café will often do it free and is a good place to find out whether something is worth saving.
9. Separate the categories at the tip.Small electricals, batteries, scrap metal, hazardous waste and general waste are all different skips. Putting a battery-containing tool in scrap metal defeats the point.
10. Handle the hazardous items separately.Paint, solvents, adhesives, engine oil, fuel and gas cylinders are hazardous waste with their own arrangements. Never pour any of them down a drain.
11. Drain fuel from garden machinery.Petrol mowers and strimmers should go empty. Old petrol goes to the hazardous waste point at a household waste site.
12. Wrap sharp items and label them.Blades, chisels and broken glass wrapped in card and taped, so nobody handling the waste is cut.
13. Check your council's rules.Sites and accepted materials vary, and some need a booking or a permit for a van. Two minutes on the council website avoids a wasted journey.

Tips

• Tape the terminals of every loose battery before it goes in a container. It is the simplest fire prevention available and takes seconds.
• Working tools are worth real money second-hand, considerably more than most people expect. Try selling before recycling.
• Retailers must take back an equivalent old electrical item when you buy new. Ask at the counter — it is rarely advertised.

Common mistakes

• Putting a battery or a battery-containing tool in a household bin — Lithium cells ignite when crushed and cause hundreds of fires a year in collection vehicles and waste facilities. There is a free collection point for every type.
• Storing a swollen battery indoors until the next tip run — A swollen cell is failing and can ignite without warning. Move it outdoors onto a non-flammable surface and take it promptly.

If it doesn't work

Questions people ask