A tiny cell is still a battery
Button cells show up in watches, key fobs, scales, thermometers, and light-up cards. Some are alkaline, some are silver oxide, and some are lithium. You cannot tell the safe path by size alone. Do not crush them, do not pierce them, and do not drop them in the household trash or the recycling cart. A crushed lithium cell can ignite in a truck or at a sort line. Tape both faces of each cell with clear tape so the terminals cannot touch keys or other batteries in a pocket. Keep them in a small plastic container, not loose in a junk drawer where a child can find them. Swallowing a button cell is a medical emergency, so store the container up and out of reach until the drop-off.
Use a battery program, not a guess
Call a household hazardous waste site, a retailer battery drop-off, or the municipal program and ask whether button cells are accepted and whether lithium coin cells must be separated from alkaline ones. Say button cell, not car battery and not power-tool pack. Those are different drop-offs. If you search Dumpmapper by ZIP code or city for a household hazardous waste listing, confirm it, because programs move and listings can be out of date. Do not tape the cells to a cardboard sheet and leave them on a scrap pile. Do not incinerate them in a shop stove. If a cell is swollen or leaking, do not touch the residue with bare hands. Bag the cell in a small rigid container and tell the attendant when you hand it over.
Pull them out of the thing you are discarding
When a greeting card, a greeting-card module, or a dead fob is on its way out, open the battery door and remove the cell first. The paper card may be trash or paper recycling if it is clean and the program accepts it. The cell still goes to the battery program. Leave the cell out of a box of books, a box of toys, or a load of remodeling debris. Mixed loads hide batteries until something shorts. At the drop-off, pour the taped cells into the container the attendant names. Do not throw the container from the car window into a bin. If the program refuses leaking lithium cells, ask where damaged batteries should go and take them there the same trip rather than tossing them at the next gas station.
Before you go
- Tape the terminals of each button cell and store them in a rigid container.
- Ask a battery or household hazardous waste program whether coin cells are accepted.
- Remove cells from cards, fobs, and toys before those items go out as trash or paper.
- Hand the taped cells to the program and do not crush them into a trash bag.
Throwing a lithium coin cell into the trash bag under coffee grounds so nobody sees it.
Questions people ask
Can I tape several coin cells in a stack?
Tape each cell so its faces cannot touch another cell or a piece of metal. A stack of untaped cells in a pocket can short even if the stack looks neat.
Do hearing-aid batteries follow the same path?
Yes. They are button cells. Tape them and use the battery program. Do not save loose ones in an unlabeled cup.
Search Dumpmapper by ZIP code or city, then call the site before you load the truck. Hours and accepted materials change.