Skip the bin

Every day and in every state, a thermal event in America’s waste and recycling infrastructure can be traced back to improper battery disposal. Thermal events can and do happen in waste collection trucks, transfer stations, material recovery facilities and landfills because consumers are faced with confusing and conflicting messages about what to do with end-of-life batteries.

In the second half of this year, the National Waste & Recycling Foundation (NWRF) will begin to test-market a national public service announcement (PSA) campaign to raise awareness and provide answers about what to do with used batteries. The campaign has partnered with the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) to license Woodsy Owl to promote the message “Skip the Bin – Turn Your Batteries In!”

At CES, scheduled for Jan. 6-9, 2026, in Las Vegas, NWRF will kick off a national PSA campaign with Woodsy Owl, bringing awareness and resources to consumers, waste services companies, policymakers and educators to get batteries OUT of the bin.

Make no mistake, batteries should NEVER be put into the trash or recycling bin at home or work—no batteries, not some batteries, NO BATTERIES—which include alkaline (AAA, AA, A, up to D and 9-volt), lithium-ion wafers, buttons, e-bike and power tool batteries. All loose batteries, and batteries in electronics such as cellphones, laptops, earbuds/headphones can cause a fire if they are damaged or if their terminals encounter a conductor.

Make no mistake, batteries should NEVER be put into the trash or recycling bin at home or work—no batteries, not some batteries, NO BATTERIES—which include alkaline (AAA, AA, A, up to D and 9-volt), lithium-ion wafers, buttons, e-bike and power tool batteries.

A great myth is that if the battery is not powering a device or will not hold a charge, it is “dead.” Not so. The battery very likely is still energized but not sufficiently enough to perform the function of powering a device. If the battery touches a conductor or is damaged, it can result in a chemical reaction and create enough heat to evolve into a fire.

A damaged lithium-ion battery can lead to a chemically induced chain reaction, heating up to 1,300 F in milliseconds, and could result in a thermal runaway. It takes copious amounts of water to smother these fires. Firefighters usually get to the scene when the only option is to contain the fire to prevent it from spreading until it burns out.

The safety of our neighborhoods, waste employees, and firefighters demand we get the batteries out. So, as Woodsy Owl says, “Give a Hoot, Don’t Pollute” and  “Skip the BIN -- Turn Your Batteries In!”