Batteries - Household - Single-Use
Primary/Single-Use batteries cannot be recharged and must be disposed of once they wear out. Alkaline, lithium, silver oxide, zinc-air, zinc-carbon, and zinc-chloride are all types of primary batteries.
Household Hazardous Waste
This item should never be put in a curbside bin. For more information visit our household hazardous waste page.
Use the BatteryNetwork (formerly Call2Recycle) Battery Drop-off Location Finder for single-use, rechargeable, e-bike, cellphones, and high energy batteries.
Learn more about Lithium Ion batteries and their safe disposal from the EPA.
Loose batteries are batteries sold separately from a product, individually packaged with a product, or designed to be easily removed from a product with no more than common household tools. Products containing loose batteries are not subject to the battery-embedded product fee. For information on loose batteries, visit the Battery Stewardship
Vendors
| Vendor | Address | City | Destination | Disposal Method | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Walgreens | 3801 3rd St. Suite 550 | San Francisco | Recycle | Free Drop-off | ||
| Walgreens | 1301 Market St. | San Francisco | Recycle | Free Drop-off | ||
| Walgreens | 456 Mission St. | San Francisco | Recycle | Free Drop-off | ||
| Walgreens | 1333 Castro St. | San Francisco | Recycle | Free Drop-off | ||
| Recology SF Household Hazardous Waste Home Collection | 501 Tunnel Ave | San Francisco | Recycle | Free Pick-up | San Francisco Residents only. | |
| Cole Hardware | 70 4th St. | San Francisco | Recycle | Free Drop-off | All household-type, laptop, cell phone, and rechargeable batteries accepted. Please tape over lithium battery contacts. | |
| Alameda County Business Hazardous Waste Drop-in Program (Hayward Facility) | 2091 West Winton Avenue | Hayward | Recycle | Drop-off for a Fee | Lithium batteries must have terminals insulated | |
| Battery Recyclers of America | Recycle | Mail-in for a Fee | Battery types you can recycle: alkaline, nickel cadmium, lithium & lithium-ion, nickel metal hydride, iron, zinc carbon, silver zinc. Battery chemistries are those found in remotes, devices, power tools, laptops, cell phones, rechargeable controllers, watches, vehicle remotes, etc. Bucket kits (20-50 lbs) - https://www.batteryrecyclersofamerica.com/buckets/ | |||
| Retriev Technologies | 265 Quary Rd SE | Lancaster | Recycle | Mail-in for a Fee | Big Green Box Program for Alkaline, Nickel Cadmium, Nickel-Metal Hydride, Lead Acid, Lithium Ion and Primary Lithium for corporations, consumers, schools, government agencies and anyone. | |
| Center Hardware | 3003 3rd St | San Francisco | Recycle | Free Drop-off | All household-type, laptop, cell phone, and rechargeable batteries accepted. Please tape over lithium battery contacts. | |
| Quick Light Recycling | 170 South Spruce Ave | South San Francisco | Recycle | Pick-up for a Fee | ||
| Mastick Senior Center & Thrift Store | 1155 Santa Clara Ave | Alameda | Recycle | Free Drop-off | Accepts batteries from members only - no large quantities. Drop off in the Senior Center. | |
| Clean Earth (AERC) (Hayward) | 30677 Huntwood Ave | Hayward | Recycle | Mail-in for a Fee | Mail-in recycling kit only | |
| Alameda City Hall West | 950 W. Mall Square | Alameda | Recycle | Free Drop-off | No large quantities. | |
| Walgreens | 459 Powell St. | San Francisco | Recycle | Free Drop-off | ||
| Walgreens | 1344 Stockton St. | San Francisco | Recycle | Free Drop-off | ||
| Walgreens | 2145 Market St. | San Francisco | Recycle | Free Drop-off | ||
| Recology SF Household Hazardous Waste Facility | 501 Tunnel Ave. | San Francisco | Recycle | Free Drop-off | Limit of 15 gallons or 125 pounds per day of all household hazardous waste. San Francisco residents only. Address verification required. Open Thursday-Saturday only from 8am-4pm. | |
| Cole Hardware | 956 Cole St. | San Francisco | Recycle | Free Drop-off | All household-type, laptop, cell phone, and rechargeable batteries accepted. Please tape over lithium battery contacts. | |
| Alameda County Business Hazardous Waste Drop-in Program (Livermore Facility) | 5584 La Ribera Street | Livermore | Recycle | Drop-off for a Fee | Lithium batteries must have terminals insulated (taped) |
Curbside Service
| Special Action | Note | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Alameda |
Residents may place household batteries (A, AA, AAA, C, D, and 9-volt) in a sealed, clear zipper-style plastic bag and put it on top of (not inside) the recyclable materials cart. Please tape terminals on batteries. (No car batteries allowed.) ### |
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| Albany |
Put batteries in a clear plastic bag, seal it shut and place on the top of the recyclables cart. ### |
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| Berkeley | |||
| Castro Valley Sanitary District |
Single-family and multi-family residents with blue recycling cart service may participate in CVSan’s curbside battery recycling program by placing used dry cell batteries (household batteries such as AAA, AA, B, C, D, 9V, and small “button” batteries) in a sealed clear plastic bag on top of your blue recycling cart on your service day. No automotive, lithium-ion or liquid batteries are accepted. Please tape terminals on 9-volt batteries. ### |
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| Dublin |
Single Family Residents. Place used batteries on top of your recycle cart in a clear plastic bag. ### |
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| Emeryville |
Emeryville accepts this item for curbside pickup, but don't put them in your carts or bins. Cart customers: put in a clear, sealed bag and place on lid of recycling cart. Always tape ends of batteries to avoid contact. If your location has bins instead of carts, Property Managers can order mail-back collection containers by calling 510-613-8700. ### |
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| Fremont | |||
| Hayward |
Single Family Service - Household batteries can be put into a sealed clear bag & placed next to the Recycling cart on collection day. Please tape over lithium battery contacts. ### |
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| Hayward (Oro Loma - L2) |
Single Family Service - Place in zip loc bag on top of recycling cart ### |
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| Livermore |
Single Family Service - Household batteries can be put into a sealed clear bag & placed on top of the Recycling cart on collection day. Please tape over lithium battery contacts. ### |
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| Newark |
Single Family Service - Place in zip loc bag on top of recycling cart ### |
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| Oakland |
Residents. Put household dry-cell batteries in a clear, sealed bag on top of recycling cart by 6am on your regular recycling pickup date. Always tape ends of batteries to avoid contact. Bag button-cell and NiCd batteries in a bag separate from alkaline batteries. Do not include rechargeable batteries. ### |
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| Piedmont |
Place in Ziploc bag on top of the recycling cart. Also accepted at the Piedmont Fire Station for recycling. ### |
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| Pleasanton |
Single Family Service - Place in zip loc bag on top of recycling cart. No rechargeable batteries allowed (ex. lithium ion). ### |
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| San Leandro |
Bag batteries in clear bag and put on top of Recycling cart. ### |
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| San Leandro (Oro Loma - L3) |
Single Family Service - Place in zip loc bag on top of recycling cart ### |
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| San Lorenzo (Oro Loma) |
Single Family Service - Place in zip loc bag on top of recycling cart ### |
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| Unincorporated Oro Loma (L1) |
Single Family Service - Place in zip loc bag on top of recycling cart ### |
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| Union City |
Single Family & Parcelized Multifamily Dwellings: Put in clear, sealed bag next to recycling cart. ### |
