Do not crush a pack under the lumber
A cordless-tool battery is a dense pack of cells, often lithium-ion, with a plastic shell and exposed terminals. Do not crush it under pavers, do not puncture it with a screw, and do not toss it in the household trash, the recycling cart, or a construction dumpster. A damaged lithium pack can heat up hours after it was bent. Tape the terminals so they cannot touch a charger, a wrench, or another pack. If the pack is swollen, cracked, or was in a wet toolbox, do not put it on a charger to see if it still works. Set it in a fire-safe container away from the house if the program told you to isolate a damaged pack, and tell the attendant it is damaged when you arrive. Do not leave it in a hot truck all afternoon while you run other errands.
Find the program that names tool packs
Hardware retailers and municipal household hazardous waste programs often take power-tool batteries, but not every bin that says batteries takes a large lithium pack. Call and ask about the brand and the size you have. A button-cell cup at a store is the wrong container. If a manufacturer take-back is printed on the pack, confirm the current drop-off before you drive, because a sticker can outlive the program. Search by ZIP code or city only as a way to find candidates, and assume the listing can be out of date. Nickel-cadmium and nickel-metal-hydride packs from older tools are still batteries. They also go to a battery program, not the curb. The tool itself, once the pack is off, may be scrap or trash. Ask about the bare tool separately.
One container for packs, nothing else on top
Carry packs in a plastic bin where no steel offcut can bridge the terminals, even with tape. Do not bury the bin under boards. At the drop-off, hand the packs to staff or place them in the lithium container they show you. Do not drop a pack into a mixed-metal roll-off from the tailgate. If the site refuses swollen packs, ask for the damaged-battery path and use it. Chargers and plastic cases are a different item. A charger may be e-waste. Confirm before you mix it into the battery bin. When you get home, check the toolbox for a second pack you forgot. The one left in a drill under a bench is the one that gets crushed later.
Before you go
- Tape the pack terminals and do not crush, puncture, or trash the pack.
- Call a battery program and confirm it accepts power-tool packs, including damaged ones.
- Carry the packs in their own bin, separate from lumber and metal.
- Hand them to the program and route the bare tool as scrap or trash only after you ask.
Tossing a swollen lithium pack into a construction dumpster under a pile of plywood.
Questions people ask
Can I tape over just one terminal?
Cover the exposed contacts so they cannot touch metal. If both ends of the contact strip are exposed, tape the whole contact area, not a single corner.
What should I do with a pack that got wet?
Do not charge it. Tape the terminals, keep it out of the trash, and tell the battery program it was wet when you hand it over.
Search Dumpmapper by ZIP code or city, then call the site before you load the truck. Hours and accepted materials change.