December 12, 2025

The Dangers of Improper Battery Disposal – And What to Do Instead

If you’ve ever tossed a dead battery into the trash, recycling bin, or shredding container, you’re not alone. However, the risks of improper battery disposal are bigger than many realize. Batteries, especially lithium-ion types commonly found in laptops, smartphones, power banks, and countless other consumer devices, can spark fires, harm workers, and cause environmental damage when they’re discarded improperly.

When batteries end up in secure shredding containers alongside paper documents, they pose a significant hazard. Shredding equipment is not designed to process batteries, and when batteries are crushed during shredding, they can ignite, setting nearby flammable materials on fire and putting workers' safety at risk.

Here’s what you need to know about safe battery disposal – and how to protect your workplace and community.

Which Batteries Cause Concern (Hint: They ALL Do)

While all batteries require careful handling, lithium-ion batteries pose the greatest disposal safety risks since they release flammable gases and contain self-oxidizing materials that make flames extremely difficult to extinguish. When these batteries are crushed, punctured, or damaged during destruction, they can experience thermal runaway – a rapid, uncontrollable heating reaction that can cause fires or explosions that spread quickly through paper and other materials.

Workplace Tips for Safe Battery Disposal

Workplaces are at risk for battery-related fires and incidents. Well-meaning employees may drop old electronics into secure document destruction containers to protect sensitive data, which creates serious fire hazards. When lithium-ion batteries are mixed with paper documents inside sealed containers, the risk of fire increases significantly.

To help prevent these incidents, businesses should adopt the following practices:

Educate and label clearly: Post prominent signage near waste bins and shredding containers stating: “No electronics or batteries.” Include battery safety in employee training and onboarding programs.

Items that don’t belong in shredding containers include:

Safe alternatives: Specialized e-waste and media destruction services safely destroy data without introducing fire risks into paper shredding operations. Shred-it® offers services for hard drives and other digital media* [HK1] (CDs, floppy disks, zip disks/drives) that have reached end of life – keeping data secure without introducing battery-related fire risk.

Centralize collection: Recycle Your Batteries Canada recommends collecting used batteries and placing them in a non-metal container. Non-conductive tape such as electrical tape should be placed over the battery’s terminals. They provide resources to help find a location to recycle lithium-ion batteries and products that contain lithium-ion batteries.

Implementing these measures will help protect your workplace, safeguard employees, and reduce the likelihood of preventable fires caused by discarded batteries.

Taking Action Protects Everyone

Properly disposing of batteries help protect the environment, people, and properties. Every year billions of batteries are thrown away and end up in landfills. The toxic metals which they contain can leach into the waste stream and harm the environment. Improperly discarded batteries can also short circuit or overheat and cause a fire, endangering not only individual businesses but also put entire communities at risk. Emergency responders, waste management workers, and neighbouring businesses all face dangers when batteries are discarded improperly. The consequences can include facility damage, service disruptions, costly emergency response efforts, and environmental cleanup expenses.

By keeping batteries out of trash, recycling bins, and secure shredding containers, we can help protect workers, prevent property damage, and safeguard our communities from preventable fires.

Learn more about what can and cannot be placed in Shred-it® containers.

*Contact Shred-it® for service availability.

This article is for general information purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice on any specific facts or circumstances.