Getting your car battery recycled

On average, 97 per cent of battery materials can be recycled and used for items such as radiation shields in medical facilities and roofing products in the construction industry. Some parts of the battery can also be used in textiles, glass and to manufacture more car batteries.

In Australia and around the globe, battery recycling has come a long way since the days when these toxic compounds were left to rot in landfill. Governments and regulatory bodies have tightened the laws around battery recycling to protect humans and the environment from the harmful materials in batteries, and to reuse their valuable properties.

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RAC are at the forefront of lead acid battery recycling in WA with dedicated scrap battery storage at each of our nine restocking facilities within the Perth metropolitan area.

If batteries were left in landfill, their casing and contents would break down and the toxic waste would seep into the ground water below.

Where do you take car batteries for recycling?

At each of the nine RAC Auto Services Centres across metropolitan Perth, end-of-life batteries are safely stored for disposal. If you’re an RAC member and have old lead acid batteries around your home, you can drop them into any RAC Auto Services Centre to be passed on for recycling.

If your battery is replaced by RAC’s mobile battery service or by RAC Auto Services, we will automatically pass your old battery on to our partners to be transported to a licenced recycling facility.

What gets recycled?

Just how recyclable are automotive batteries compared to other products? Almost all components of a lead acid battery can be recycled, compared to 63 per cent of paper products, 58 per cent of aluminium cans and only 41 per cent of glass bottles.

The recycling rate for automotive batteries in Australia is around 98 per cent. That means a lot of batteries are getting recycled.

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Currently, most passenger cars still use lead acid batteries and, depending on the way the battery is used (commercial or private use), on average, car owners need to replace their battery every three to five years, so even the small percentage of batteries that don’t get recycled adds up to a substantial number that will simply be disposed of.

Once they reach the end of their life, car batteries are classified as toxic waste. Each lead acid battery contains about two to three litres of sulphuric acid, as well as lead, neither of which is good for the environment.

Lead is one of the world’s most recycled materials. Recycled lead has almost the same properties as when it’s first extracted from ore, and the process of extracting it from an automotive battery uses less energy than the original mining process.

Approximately 85 per cent of the lead is extracted to make new lead acid batteries.

It’s not just the lead that’s recycled. The battery’s plastic casing is also processed into pellets which can be turned into other plastic products.

How are car batteries recycled?

Once the batteries have reached recycling centres, the lead battery is put through a hammer mill to be broken down. Then the components enter a vat where the heavier and lighter parts are separated.

The floating plastic is removed and transferred to a plastics recycler where the plastic is melted to form small pellets.

To treat the lead, the grids and other components are melted inside smelters and then placed in moulds where the material’s impurities float to the top. These elements are removed before the lead cools. Once this stage is complete, they can be melted again and used to manufacture new batteries.

Finally, the sulphuric acid is neutralised and converted to sodium sulphate or simply processed into water and transferred to a waste facility. In the case of sodium powder, the properties can be used to make textiles and laundry detergent.

How to handle a car battery

Automotive lead acid batteries are highly toxic and great care must be taken when handling them. The sulphuric acid, if it leaks, can be extremely hazardous.

Always use durable gloves when handling car batteries and never attempt to dismantle any part of the battery yourself as the toxic compounds.

Dedicated battery recycling systems have been put in place for good reason, so you should never put your lead acid battery into your waste bin or home recycling.

Also, ensure that batteries are kept far away from flames, sparks and ignition sources as they are extremely flammable.

Last updated: November 2021