To have thrown a bunch of smashed up old mobile phones in the bin

if you have a system set up for recycling lithium batteries, could you just change it to include all batteries?

Well every day is a school day. I feel a wee bit bad about my flinging of regular batteries in the bin. Will make a conscious effort to recycle them now. Although tbh I have ADHD and it's far more likely they'll just rattle around in a drawer for 3 years pissing me off until I eventually take them to a shop 😂

Definitely would recycle lithium though. My work in aviation put the absolute fear into me about that.

It's hardly a rare or unheard of issue, is it? I couldn't quickly find national stats for last year, but this news story from October is reporting on the seventh bin lorry fire of 2025 in Nottingham alone, mostly caused by lithium batteries.
Rubbish dumped in Nottingham's seventh bin lorry fire of year - BBC News

If you can keep laundry detergent and toilet cleaner out of their way, why is it so difficult to keep used batteries out of their way. Do you never visit a shop that sells batteries?

I think that the 'recycle ALL batteries" message is used because its much easier to get people to do things if the message is short and simple. When you start getting to "if this do this, if that do something different" it can be confusing and end up with people doing the wrong thing or going "oh I cannot be bothered" For shops too, the line is clear, basically if you sell batteries you take batteries back with no ifs or buts about battery type or brand. Additionally of course, sending batteries to landfill is not great and some materials from batteries can be recovered and re used. I have a friend whose parent is obsessive about recycling and lives in an area where understanding the rules is slightly more complicated than explaining the offside rule to a non footy fan. The parent does their best but insists its ok to put foodwaste into single use plastic bags "to keep the kitchen storage bucket clean"

Er, okay, so if I put a pot in my kitchen then all the used batteries in my house will magically be transported from there to the supermarket every few weeks? I think not.

Also, not a good idea for there to be containers of batteries in households with small, curious children.

I don't know if it's been mentioned already but "normal" batteries like AA and AAA etc are usually alkaline not lithium and are extremely unlikely to cause any sort of fire. However, obviously the type of battery being discussed here is different as it's in a mobile phone.

I always assumed the battery collection bucket things were just to be more environmentally friendly tbh. I've been chucking dead AA and AAA type batteries in my household bin for years 😬

Also, from what I can find online it's not actually illegal to do this although local councils can, but don't usually, issue fines for frequent excessive amounts of batteries in household waste.

The cut off point is 32 kg of batteries per year which breaks down to approximately 4 AA batteries per day, less per day if they sell bigger batteries.

I didnt realise it was a legal requirement. However in our work entrance we have a little cardboard box for batteries so I have put mine in there for years.
I've heard about the bin lorry fires but thought that was just disposable vapes causing the issue.

Yes but I don't know if that is in sufficient quantities to be required by law to do a collection for recycling. I will check next time I go in.

I have just been looking at some statistics and it appears that people who say they recycle batteries (even occasionally) is under 50% and the environment agency reckon only around 30% of batteries sold are recycled. If that's right, it appears that there are many more people not recycling batteries in real life than it would appear from this Mumsnet thread.

Edited to say, sorry I didn't realise you were replying to someone else. I also have a little Tesco and a Coop near me and wasn't sure if they had a collection bin.

It's ragebait at this point.

do either of them sell batteries?

Our recyclers that collect glass/cardboard/plastics/papers / food stuff take electrical items too, shame they don’t take batteries!!!

🤣🤣🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️
oh dear!
poor you!
How judgmental are you?

You actually haven’t got a clue have you how people live their lives?
Pathetic!!!

Go to your local council website. Look up the copious amounts of information on what to do with your waste. If I don't know how to dispose of something I look it up. I'd never put electrical waste in landfill.

No, none of them do here, we’ve got a small Tesco & coop

The environment is everyone’s responsibility, not sure why you think you're exempt.

You are sounding ridiculously dumb and arrogant. Please stop.

she is being very snobbish and ignorant. I get the feeling that she thinks waste recycling is beneath her and her neighbours. I live in a very well to do area and all my neighbours put recycling out every week. It’s not rocket science.

Sir David Attenborough is one of the most active and effective proponents of recycling. Nothing else going on in his life of course.

Read the thread Clara because there was a post earlier about house fires starting because of old batteries kept in drawers.

It's not at all awkward taking stuff for recycling back to shops, they're used to it. It must happen every day.

"Maybe we need a thread with this sort of useful life stuff as how do you know what you don't know"

An alternative to this would be if we all just think a bit harder about the things we let go and how we get rid of them. Anything electrical or that won't just rot down - where do we think that goes? There's a system for everything and it's all on the net.

It IS mainstream knowledge. Just because you are ignorant, don’t assume everyone is as stupid as you are. Your attitude is appalling.

This is mainstream knowledge.

Ignorance of the law is not a defence but you’re not even bothered. You’re a vandal. That’s why people are getting cross.

Do you ever go on your local council website to check your recycling collection dates, order extra bins or check what goes in what box? There is a big list on there which stipulates how things should be recycled. Hard to miss, really. I appreciate some people only care about recycling due to less frequent waste bin collections. But it's not like information is hidden from view.