Battery recycling

be a battery hero put batteries in their place

Some batteries contain toxic metals, such as cadmium, lead or mercury, which pose a threat to human health and the environment when batteries are improperly disposed.

With so many kinds of batteries, it can be confusing to know what to do with them. To make it simple, we accept all types of household batteries at Hennepin County drop-off facilities.

Battery fact sheet (PDF)

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Household batteries

We accept all types of household batteries at county drop-off facilities. Household and vehicle batteries are also collected at county household hazardous waste events.

Batteries from your house

Rechargeable batteries

Take the following batteries to the Bloomington or Brooklyn Park drop-off facilities:

Rechargeable
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Vehicle batteries

Non-rechargeable batteries

Single-use (alkaline) batteries such as AA, AAA, C, D etc. do not have to be recycled. They can be put in the trash. You can also recycle them at the Bloomington or Brooklyn Park drop-off facilities.

Prepare batteries for the drop-off facility

Place batteries in a clear plastic bag OR place clear tape on both the positive (+) and negative (-) terminals of batteries to prevent fires.

If you cannot remove the battery from the device, bring the entire device the Bloomington or Brooklyn Park drop-off facilities.

Batteries from businesses

Batteries from businesses are not accepted at the county drop-off facilities. See information for commercial hazardous waste generators.

Find additional drop-off sites at Call2Recycle.org.

Discontinued community collection sites

On October 28, 2019, the county discontinued collecting batteries at city and county buildings, libraries, schools, and community centers.

Due to potential fire hazards, it is no longer safe to collect batteries at community locations. The combination of vape pens/e-cig devices and rechargeable batteries that are flammable is dangerous. Staff investigated using other types of collection containers to reduce the risk of fires, but currently containers do not exist that would eliminate the potential fire hazard.

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