Leaky Battery Disposal

[tA71ana]

I had an eGo battery croak on me so I put it aside to throw out.
Now I notice it is leaking a bit
What do i need to do to properly dispose of it?

p.s. I put it in a glass jar for the time being

 

[rjeatkrconley]

Call your city environmental department and see what they recommend. Prolly your best bet. Don't want these items ending up in a landfill or worse..
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[Rader2146]

Rechargeable Lithium-Ion batteries do not contain any lithium metal content. They are safe to throw in the trash and are not an environmental hazard.

The primary goal of Lithium-Ion recycling is to reclaim the base metals to be sold and reused as recycled content just as any other metal recycling program. From a chemical standpoint they are inert to the environment.

 

[rjeatkrconley]

Rechargeable Lithium-Ion batteries do not contain any lithium metal content. They are safe to throw in the trash and are not an environmental hazard.

The primary goal of Lithium-Ion recycling is to reclaim the base metals to be sold and reused as recycled content just as any other metal recycling program. From a chemical standpoint they are inert to the environment.

I would mostly agree. But mixing with all the other stuff that goes to a landfill...do you Think it would still be ok? Just wondering what they might react with, if anything.
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[spider362]

As Rader2146 said the chemicals in any lithium-based battery are inert to the environment and will do no more harm than throwing away a dirty paper towel.

 

[Rader2146]

I would mostly agree. But mixing with all the other stuff that goes to a landfill...do you Think it would still be ok? Just wondering what they might react with, if anything.
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The electrolyte is a salt (chemically neutral) solution so reactivity with other contaminants is negligible. For the base metals, I may have been a little misleading above when I said they do not contain any lithium metal content. More accurately, they do not contain any pure lithium metal content. It is a intercalated lithium mixture (ie: Lithium + Manganese Oxide=Lithium Manganese or IMR). Mixing pure lithium with an oxide results in a chemically neutral alloy, so again reactivity with other contaminants is negligible

As Rader2146 said the chemicals in any lithium-based battery are inert to the environment and will do no more harm than throwing away a dirty paper towel.

Only Lithium-Ions are inert. Lithium primary's do contain raw lithium and are extremely hazardous.

 

[tA71ana]

Thanks guys for all the replies.. I do appreciate it!

 

[MorpheusPA]

To get hyper-technical about it, disposing of lithium batteries in the trash is just fine if it's a "small quantity." I'd definitely consider 1 batt a very small quantity indeed!

Larger quantities should go to recycling because we can reclaim and re-use the lithium. Lithium's pretty rare. So if you're environmentally concerned you might be able to recycle that, but I don't think I'd want a leaking battery sitting around. They're a mess. I'd pitch it without a second thought.

 

[SourGummies]

This was very helpful. Thank you.