Here you can find relevant information and guidance about batteries, including labelling, safe handling, collection, and recycling.

End-of-life batteries contain both valuable raw materials and substances that require careful handling.

For this reason, the new EU Battery Regulation and the Danish implementing legislation introduce stricter requirements for how consumers and businesses prevent waste and handle batteries safely and responsibly.

Below are the key points you need to know.

The Consumer’s (End User’s) Role: How to Prevent Waste and Ensure Proper Collection

As an end user, you play a crucial role in ensuring that used batteries are collected and recycled.

Small everyday actions make a big difference. Here are three simple tips for better battery use:

1. Use batteries for longer: Choose rechargeable batteries whenever possible and use batteries fully before replacing them.
2. Do not mix batteries with other waste: Batteries must never be placed in residual waste, plastic, cardboard, or other household containers. They must always be taken to a collection system specifically designed for batteries.
3. Hand in batteries regularly: Avoid allowing batteries to accumulate at home or in the workplace. Deliver them regularly to minimise fire risks, ensure correct recycling, and return valuable resources to the circular economy as quickly as possible.

Collection and Recycling Schemes

In Denmark, it is straightforward to dispose of batteries safely and correctly:

• Recycling centres: All types of batteries can be delivered here – from small household batteries to larger lithium batteries.
• Kerbside or municipal waste services: In many municipalities, small batteries can be placed in designated containers such as boxes, battery stands, hazardous waste cabinets, or special bags collected alongside household waste (but never in the residual waste bin).
• Businesses: Must use approved collectors and treatment operators, often arranged through their producer responsibility organisation, such as Batteriretur.
• Check your local authority’s arrangements: Schemes differ between municipalities. Visit your local authority’s website to see how battery collection is handled in your area.

Safe Handling of Used Batteries

All batteries can pose a fire risk if damaged or handled incorrectly, and lithium batteries in particular require extra care.

Follow these guidelines:

• Cover the terminals: Place tape over exposed metal terminals.
• Deliver damaged batteries immediately: If a battery is swollen, leaking, hot to the touch, or has a chemical smell, take it to the recycling centre straight away and notify the staff.
• Store in a cool, dry place: Avoid storing batteries in direct sunlight or near heat sources.
• Keep batteries separate: Do not store loose batteries together with metal objects, as this can lead to short-circuiting and potentially cause a fire.
• Do not crush or break batteries: Never attempt to open, puncture, or otherwise damage a battery.

The Importance of Labelling and Symbols

Labelling is a key part of the new regulation, both for safety and to ensure that batteries can be sorted and recycled correctly.

• The crossed-out wheeled bin symbol: Indicates that the battery must not be disposed of with household waste.
• Chemical symbols (e.g., Pb, Hg, Cd): Show whether the battery contains substances requiring special treatment.
• QR codes: New EU requirements mean that more batteries will include QR codes with information about composition, capacity, and safety instructions.
• Producer identification: Enables producer responsibility organisations to identify the manufacturer and allocate responsibility correctly.
• Product-specific information: If you require information about a particular battery, visit the manufacturer’s website. You can find a list of Batteriretur’s member companies here.

Environmental and Health Impacts of Incorrect Disposal

Incorrect disposal of batteries can have serious consequences:

• Fire and explosion risks: Especially from lithium batteries placed in residual waste or waste collection vehicles.
• Pollution: Batteries contain metals such as lithium, cobalt, nickel, and lead. If disposed of incorrectly, they can contaminate soil and groundwater.
• Loss of valuable resources: Batteries contain materials that Europe largely imports. If batteries are not collected, these resources are lost, and the environmental footprint increases.
• Risks to health and safety: Waste workers may be put at risk if batteries are hidden in bags or containers not designed for them.

Summary: Return Your Used Batteries – A Small Action with a Big Impact

By sorting and delivering batteries correctly, you help to:

• reduce the risk of fires,
• protect the environment and groundwater,
• ensure that valuable materials can be recycled,
• support the circular economy in Denmark and across the EU.

It’s a small action, but the impact is considerable.