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 Call2Recycle Battery Drop-off Location Finder for single-use, rechargeable, e-bike, and high energy batteries and cellphones.
Learn more about Lithium Ion batteries and their safe disposal from the EPA.
Vendors
| Vendor | Address | City | Destination | Disposal Method | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | ||
| Samy's Camera | 1090 Bryant St. | San Francisco | Recycle | Free Drop-off | All household-type, laptop, cell phone, and rechargeable batteries accepted. Please tape over lithium battery contacts. | |
| Walgreens | 2145 Market St. | San Francisco | Recycle | Free Drop-off | ||
| Shoreway Environmental Center (SEC) | 333 Shoreway Road | San Carlos | Recycle | Free Drop-off | Public Recycling Center | |
| Best Buy Recycling and Trade-in Program (Union City) | 31350 Courthouse Dr. | Union City | Recycle | Free Drop-off | rechargeable batteries, battery backups (UPS), batteries for cellphones, laptops, and button batteries | |
| 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. | |
| RecycLights | 20283 Santa Maria Ave | Castro Valley | Recycle | Free Drop-off | Call for details. | |
| 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 | |
| Walgreens | 1979 Mission St. | San Francisco | Recycle | Free Drop-off | ||
| Piedmont Fire Station | 120 Vista Ave | Piedmont | Recycle | Free Drop-off | Piedmont residents only. | |
| Standard Plumbing | 6122 Geary Blvd. | San Francisco | Recycle | Free Drop-off | All household-type, laptop, cell phone, and rechargeable batteries accepted. Please tape over lithium battery contacts. | |
| Walgreens | 4645 Mission St. | San Francisco | Recycle | Free Drop-off | ||
| Glass Key Photo | 1230 Sutter St. | San Francisco | Recycle | Free Drop-off | All household-type, laptop, cell phone, and rechargeable batteries accepted. Please tape over lithium battery contacts. | |
| Walgreens | 2494 San Bruno Ave. | San Francisco | Recycle | Free Drop-off | ||
| Oakland Public Library (Downtown Main Library) | 125 14th St | Oakland | Recycle | Free Drop-off | Tape battery terminals. | |
| Tri-CED Community Recycling | 33377 Western Ave. | Union City | Recycle | Free Drop-off | ||
| 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. | |
| City of Palo Alto Household Hazardous Waste Station Program | 2501 Embarcadero Way | Palo Alto | Recycle | Free Drop-off | Only 15 gallons or 125 pounds of hazardous waste per visit. Must be a Palo Alto resident, proof of residency is required. | |
| 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 drop off household batteries (A, AA, AAA, C, D and 9-volt) at the ACI Alameda office or package in a sealed, clear plastic bag and place on top of the recyclable materials cart. (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: place in sealed, zip bag taped to lid of recycling cart. Emeryville bin customers call to order mail-back collection container: 510-613-8710. ### |
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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 ### |
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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. ### |
