How to recycle Powerpack battery cells at end-of-life?

This article gives information on how and where to recycle Powerpack to ensure safe and responsible disposal of batteries

Australia's circular battery economy is growing, and there are more and more battery recycling facilities to collect, sort, shred and separate the valuable minerals found in the components of spent Li-ion battery cells. These minerals include magnesium, cobalt, zinc and lithium.

Responsibly recycling batteries ensures all useful battery waste materials are recycled and that any of the dangerous materials are disposed of correctly.

Recycling and disposing of used Powerpacks differs across Australia’s different states and territories:

New South Wales (NSW)

• Community Recycling Centres (CRCs): Accept up to 20kg of batteries from households year-round, free of charge
• Programs: The Household Chemical CleanOut program complements the CRCs

Victoria

• Permanent drop-off sites are located at council depots and transfer stations for residential waste only

Queensland

• Programs: A voluntary battery recycling scheme, starting with rechargeable batteries like those found in power tools and laptops​ (BatteryRecycling.org)​​ (CarsGuide)​

South Australia

• Contact Local Council: For further details on specific drop-off points​

ACT

• Programs: MRI eCycle's “battery bucket” for collection, and resource recovery centres

Tasmania

• Programs: Batteries collected by Toxfree for offshore shipping and materials recovery

Northern Territory

• Programs: Collection through Planet Ark

Western Australia

• Drop-off Locations: Battery World, Bunnings, local waste transfer depots, and council drop-off points
• Information: Full list at Recycle Right​ (BatteryRecycling.org)​

The BCYCLE website has information on battery collectors, recyclers and sorters across Australia.