When something's dead and useless, chucking it in the bin feels like the obvious next step. But batteries? Think again. These little power packs can become bombs in disguise when they end up in your household bins.
Household batteries cause at least one fire every month at Eurobodalla's waste facilities.
When they're crushed or damaged among a truckload of waste, they can spark or catch fire and put collection crews and waste staff at risk.
So what do you do with that collection of AAs, AAAs and button batteries instead?
Keep them away from metal objects, which can cause them to short-circuit. Store them somewhere cool and dry in a glass container or jar – keep the lid off.
If you can go the extra mile, pop a bit of sticky tape over the terminals – that will prevent any sparks. Then take them to a battery recycling point.
You can find battery drop-off points at Council's administration building in Moruya and participating supermarkets including Woolworths, Coles, Aldi and IGA.
From there, 73 percent of the battery materials will be recovered through recycling, giving them another life instead of going to landfill.
Watch our latest Recycling Reality Check video to see how you can recycle them safely.
Not sure which batteries can be recycled or where to drop them off? Visit Council's Battery Recycling page for a full list of accepted batteries, drop-off locations and recycling tips. You can also hear from Council's waste team at a pop-up battery education event at your local market in October. The team will be at Moruya Country Markets on Saturday 17 October, Batemans Bay Rotary Market on Sunday 18 October and Narooma Rotary Markets on Sunday 25 October.
