Disposal of Li-ion batteries

After a period of time that will vary depending on use and settings, you may find that your battery will power your device for only a couple of hours, requiring you to charge more frequently. Rechargeable batteries have a limited number of charge cycles and may eventually need to be replaced.

You may choose to replace your battery while it still has a little juice left, or wait until the battery does not hold enough energy to power your device at all. As with all batteries, proper disposal is essential. Putting any battery directly in the rubbish harms the environment.

Regulations and laws pertaining to the recycling and disposal of lithium ion batteries vary from country to country as well as by state and local governments.
The European governments have more strict regulations on the disposal of rechargeable batteries than the USA and Canada.

You will need to check the laws and regulations where you live.

01/ Germany

In connection with the sale of batteries or rechargeable batteries, or devices that are operated with batteries or rechargeable batteries, we are committed as a dealer under the battery law to inform about relevant rules and obligations:

Do not waste batteries in the trash. Consumers are legally obliged to bring batteries to a suitable collection point to the trade or the community. The submission is free of charge. You can also return their used batteries to us. The return of battery life to us in any case shall be sufficient postage:

ZNEX Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG
Münchhofstr. 12
79106 Freiburg/Germany

Batteries may contain heavy metals or pollutants that can harm the environment and health. Batteries also contain valuable materials which are recycled.

The dust bin means no batteries and rechargeable batteries are in the household waste.

recyclebin

The sign with the crossed out trashcan means that you may not dispose of batteries and accumulators in household waste. The following additional signs are usually applied under this sign, and have the following meanings

Pb: Battery contains lead
Cd: Battery contains cadmium
Hg: Battery contains mercury

You have the opportunity to read this information again in the documentation accompanying the delivery of goods or in the manual of the equipment manufacturer. More detailed information about battery law they receive from the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety under http://www.bmu.de/abfallwirtschaft or under the Federal Environment Agency http://www.uba.de

02/ USA

All (our) Panasonic Lithium Ion batteries are classified by the federal government as non-hazardous waste and are safe for disposal in the normal municipal waste stream. These batteries, however, do contain recyclable materials and are accepted for recycling by the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation’s (RBRC) Battery Recycling Program.

We encourage you to visit www.rbrc.org, the web site of the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation (RBRC), or call 1-800-BATTERY to find a convenient recycling location.

Lithium ion batteries are recyclable and should be recycled to be properly disposed. There are many popular retailers that will collect and recycle lithium ion batteries for you so that you can do your part in helping the environment by keeping batteries out of landfills.

03/ All other countries

Remember that before any type of disposal the batteries should be discharged completely. Tape the contacts with electrical tape and package so as to prevent contacts accidentally coming together at any time. These batteries can be incinerated if you have a large quantity and they will need to be packaged as lithium ion batteries. Incineration must be performed by an approved and permitted waste treatment facility that handles lithium ion batteries. If you are not sure if your waste facility can handle lithium ion batteries, contact them and verify if they are permitted or not.

For home disposal, many stores offer free recycling of rechargeable batteries. If no outlet is available in your area, it is safe to dispose of these batteries in your regular trash.

As always, check with your local laws to make sure that this is acceptable.