Sacramento County warns residents not to trash lithium-ion batteries

Trash and recycling carts are not the place for lithium-ion batteries, battery packs, or devices built around them. Sacramento County says those items are barred from garbage and recycling containers because its collection trucks compact everything inside, and a crushed or punctured battery can spark, catch fire, or explode before crews can get it to a disposal site.

County waste officials say the danger is not abstract. Improper battery disposal can put sanitation workers and nearby neighborhoods at serious risk, damage expensive equipment, and delay curbside collection. The county is telling residents to keep batteries out of curbside carts and bulky-waste pickups, then drop them off at a household hazardous waste facility or a battery recycling location instead. Its guidance says lithium-ion, nickel-cadmium, nickel-metal hydride and certain 9-volt batteries should have their terminals taped with clear tape before disposal.

The City of Sacramento says battery drop-off is free for residential customers, and California law requires retailers that sell small, non-vehicular rechargeable batteries to offer consumers a free return system. That gives residents multiple off-ramps before a battery reaches a garbage truck, where the risk is highest and the consequences can spread quickly through the waste system.

The federal warning is just as direct. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says lithium-ion batteries and devices containing them should not go in household garbage or recycling bins because they can cause fires during transport, at landfills and at recyclers. In California, the state’s Responsible Battery Recycling Act of 2022 requires producers to establish a stewardship program for covered batteries, part of a broader push to raise collection and recycling rates while reducing preventable fires.

For Sacramento County, the message is about protecting the people who handle the trash before residents ever see the damage. A battery thrown away with ordinary household waste can become a truck fire, a service delay and a neighborhood hazard in a matter of minutes.