Battery recycling in Hawaii

Don't put that battery in the trash.

A worn-out lithium battery doesn't leak like an old flashlight cell. Damaged, it can ignite. And on an island, there's no recycling plant to send it to, so every battery has to be packed as hazardous cargo and shipped across the ocean. Here's what to do with yours, and why. No scare tactics, just how it works here.

35Lithium battery fires at H-POWER in 2025

0Battery recyclers on the islands

2,400+ miOf ocean to the mainland

1What do you have?

Tap the closest match and we'll tell you where it goes. Not sure? The wrapper tells you: chemistry and voltage are printed on almost every battery.

2Why lithium is different, especially here

A lithium battery stores a lot of energy in a small package. That's the whole appeal, and it's also the risk: crush or puncture one and it can ignite and burn hot enough that water and a household extinguisher struggle to stop it, releasing toxic smoke while it goes. That's what happens inside a garbage truck's compactor and at H-POWER, and it's why the trash is the one place a lithium battery must never go.

Being 2,400 miles out in the Pacific raises the stakes on both ends. There's one waste system per island, so a battery fire in a truck or at the plant is everyone's problem, and what doesn't burn stays here, in a small island's soil and water. That's not a reason to be afraid of the battery in your drill. It's the reason for the tape and the bag.

3Before you drop it off

Tape the terminalsAny tape works. Electrical, packing, duct. It stops a loose battery from shorting against another one in the bag.

Bag themClear plastic bag, or each battery in its own bag. No metal containers.

Swollen or damagedDo not tape or bag it. Set it in a bucket of sand or kitty litter, keep it outside, away from the house, and take it to the drop-off that way.

Keep it coolNot in the car trunk for a week. Heat is what turns a tired battery into a swollen one.

Why it's hard here

It has to leave the islands

There is no battery recycling plant in Hawaii. Every battery collected here gets packed and shipped to a recycler on the mainland. That is the whole reason recycling here costs money.

It ships as hazardous cargo

Federal rules treat lithium batteries as hazmat. They go in fireproof containers with fire-retardant fill, labeled and documented. The special barrels aren't made here, so they come over from the mainland too. Damaged batteries can't fly at all, and at least one carrier has stopped taking them.

The trash is where the fires start

A crushed lithium cell in a garbage truck or at H-POWER ignites. The City counted 44 lithium battery fires at H-POWER in 2024 and 35 in 2025.

Households aren't regulated. Businesses are.

If a business generates lithium batteries, they're regulated hazardous waste and must be shipped out of state. Households aren't held to that, which is why so much ends up in the bin. The battery doesn't know the difference.

This page is a free guide. Check with the drop-off site for any fees before you go.

Want to get it right? The official drop-off pages for every island are at the bottom of this page. Big load, swollen pack, or a business cleanout? Call your county's household hazardous waste line first.

See drop-off locations

Resources

Keep this list

Everything below is the official page, not a summary of it. Neighbor islands: the state info sheet has the full drop-off list for every island.

Where to take them

State of Hawaii lithium-ion disposal sheet for residents (Dec 2025)Drop-off and pick-up locations for every island, including damaged batteries. The one document to save.
City and County of Honolulu, household hazardous wasteOahu convenience centers, transfer stations, and the HHW drop-off events. Appointments: (808) 768-3201.
Hawaii County, household hazardous wasteBig Island drop-off rules, limits, and what they can't take.
State of Hawaii lithium-ion disposal sheet for businessesBusiness-generated batteries are regulated hazardous waste. Start here before you stack them in the back room.

Why it matters

KHON2: the City on e-waste and the H-POWER fires (Feb 2026)44 lithium battery fires at H-POWER in 2024, 35 in 2025, and where the City wants your batteries instead.
Hawaii Tribune-Herald: the state's lithium-ion conundrumWhy there's no recycler here, what hazmat shipping takes, and what happens if carriers stop taking batteries.
KHON2: keeping waste out of our landfills (Nov 2025)What to do with damaged and swollen batteries, straight from the City's recycling chief.
State of Hawaii: used lead-acid battery managementThe law that makes your old car battery free to return where you buy the new one.