Call2Recycle

Call2Recycle is the battery take-back program that five battery makers founded in 1994; on January 13, 2026 it renamed itself The Battery Network. Through retailers such as Best Buy, Home Depot and Lowe’s and other collection sites, every site takes rechargeable batteries and some also take single-use ones. It is not a curbside service or anyone’s assigned collector. Open its drop-off locator first and check what each site accepts.

Which states and who pays

Battery makers and brand owners enroll as stewards, and the network collects and recycles on their behalf. The rechargeable program is national. For single-use batteries, the network says free recycling exists only in Vermont, Illinois and Washington, D.C.; elsewhere, a household hazardous waste or city program that takes alkaline batteries may charge a small fee.

In Vermont and Illinois the network is the state-approved stewardship program. Both states ban household and medium-format batteries from the garbage, and battery producers must join an approved plan that offers free collection. Vermont’s law covers single-use and rechargeable batteries up to 25 pounds, rechargeables up to 2,000 watt-hours, and batteries sold in or with a device.

What is accepted

• Rechargeable: lithium-ion, nickel-cadmium, nickel-metal hydride and small sealed lead-acid, from phones, cordless tools and vacuums, power banks, drones and medical devices. Cellphones too.
• Single-use: alkaline (AAA to 9V), lithium primary, coin and button cells, at sites that list them.
• Larger packs: e-bike and high-energy batteries go through dedicated programs that take only participating brands, at some sites.
• Not accepted at drop-off sites: car batteries, recalled batteries, electric vehicle packs (handled only through certified EV programs), and disposable vapes unless the battery comes out. Most sites refuse damaged or defective batteries; trained sites in Illinois, New York, Vermont and Washington, D.C. may take them.

How to use it

Enter your ZIP code in the locator, or call 1-877-2-RECYCLE, and read each site’s details for the battery types it takes. Before you go, bag each battery in clear plastic or tape the terminals with clear packing, electrical or duct tape; masking, painter’s and Scotch tape can fall off. Keep the brand and chemistry visible. Plain alkaline cells need no tape unless the label says lithium; soft-sided batteries go in bubble-wrap bags. Set a swollen, leaking or overheating battery in sand or kitty litter and call its maker. If no site near you takes single-use batteries, the network sells a mail-back kit.

What this is not

It is not a curbside or home pickup service. Its drop-off sites do not take car batteries or recalled batteries; for a recall, follow the maker’s instructions. Other household hazardous waste goes to your local program.

On Trashbagging

See also: lithium-ion batteries · household hazardous waste.

State hubs with a single-use battery program: Vermont · Illinois · District of Columbia.

Context photo: A cylindrical ICR18650 lithium-ion battery removed from a portable speaker. Raimond Spekking, 2022-02-10. CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source. Resized for web.