Recycling batteries and small electric or battery-powered items

Electrical and electronic items (anything powered by a battery or a plug such as vapes, electric toothbrushes, fairy lights etc) and batteries should always be separated and recycled correctly.

This is to prevent the risk of fires and ensure that materials such as precious metals get recycled.

Never bin batteries: Never place battery-powered items containing batteries or loose batteries in with your general waste or recycling.

When your waste and recycling is collected by our crews, any batteries inside can be squashed, punctured or shredded. When this happens, some batteries can get very hot and ignite, sometimes causing a fire or explosion in the bin lorry or at the waste facility.

How to recycle

If the electrical or battery powered item fits inside a standard sized carrier bag then it can be recycled using our ‘Bin Top’ recycling service.  

Larger items can be recycled by taking them to a household waste recycling centre or by using the bulky waste collection service.

Bin Top recycling service

Electrical or battery-powered items must be able to fit into a standard-sized carrier bag to use the bin top recycling service. Larger items will not be collected.

Batteries in a clear bag can also be collected, such as:

• removable batteries
• rechargeable batteries
• button/coin batteries
• batteries found in electronic devices such as laptops, tablets, mobile phones, electronic toys

How to use the Bin Top recycling service

Place the item(s) and any bagged batteries on top of one of your bins or clear recycling sack, not inside of the bin or bag, on your normal collection day.

Please do not tie the bag to the bin.

Which bin you use depends on where you live:

• Northampton - blue-lidded recycling bin
• Daventry - black-lidded general waste bin
• South Northamptonshire (including Brackley, Towcester and nearby locations) - either blue-lidded recycling or black-lidded general waste bin

If you cannot remove the batteries from a broken electronic device (anything powered by a battery or plug) then you can put the whole electronic item out for recycling in the same way.

We cannot collect electrical items or batteries from communal properties with large shared bins because of the risk of fire. Please take these items to your local recycling centre, supermarket or DIY store instead.

Repair, donate or recycle

Enter your postcode on the Recycle Your Electricals website to find your nearest place to donate or recycle electrical items. 

Please note: the website may not list all locations for small electrical or battery-powered items.

Permanently deleting your data before recycling a device

Before you give your smart device to someone else or recycle it, you must permanently remove all personal data. This helps to make sure your information cannot be recovered.

Read the guide below for step-by-step instructions:

Decluttering your cables

The guide below can help you identify your cables and decide which ones you can recycle:

Last updated 24 August 2026