Where to Dispose of Batteries in Israel: Drop-Off Points, What Is Forbidden, and Lithium
Shukshuk team · Updated September 2026
Batteries do not go in the bin. Not the regular one and not the orange one, and that is not just advice: the Environmental Treatment of Electrical and Electronic Equipment and Batteries Law obliges anyone who sells batteries to take used ones back for free, and recognises two bodies that run the collection network. This guide says where that is in practice, what to do with lithium batteries, which are the dangerous case, and how to keep them at home until you reach a drop-off.
Which battery goes where
- Found in
- Remotes, toys
- Where
- Collection box at any shop that sells batteries, or a municipal recycling centre
- Found in
- Watches, hearing aids
- Where
- Shop collection box
- Found in
- Phones, laptops, power banks
- Where
- A dedicated e-waste drop-off, not the ordinary battery box
- Found in
- Light electric vehicles
- Where
- A dedicated lithium drop-off (on the MAI map)
- Found in
- Vehicles
- Where
- Garage, battery shop or dedicated drop-off
- Found in
- Any device
- Where
- Municipal recycling centre or the environment department, not a shop
| Type | Found in | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Alkaline (AA, AAA, 9V) | Remotes, toys | Collection box at any shop that sells batteries, or a municipal recycling centre |
| Button cells | Watches, hearing aids | Shop collection box |
| Lithium-ion | Phones, laptops, power banks | A dedicated e-waste drop-off, not the ordinary battery box |
| E-bike or e-scooter battery | Light electric vehicles | A dedicated lithium drop-off (on the MAI map) |
| Car battery | Vehicles | Garage, battery shop or dedicated drop-off |
| Swollen, leaking or damaged | Any device | Municipal recycling centre or the environment department, not a shop |
Drop-off is free for private individuals at every one of these. If you are not sure which point is nearest, the MAI collection-point map filters by item type.
Why not the bin
A battery holds heavy metals and chemicals that leach into soil and groundwater when it is buried with ordinary waste, and lithium batteries also catch fire: refuse trucks and sorting plants burn every year because of one crushed cell. The orange bin is for packaging only, and a battery dropped in it reaches a sorting line that was never built for it. So the law regulates it: every point of sale for portable batteries must place a dedicated collection container and accept used batteries without charge, and for a private individual the hand-over is free by every route in this guide.
Where the collection points are
• Any shop that sells batteries: supermarkets, pharmacies, electrical stores, convenience stores. Look for the container by the tills; if there is none, you may ask, it is the shop's obligation. • Municipal recycling centres and the e-waste collection stations councils place on the street, and sometimes in schools and public buildings. • The MAI (Electronics Recycling Israel) collection-point map. MAI is one of the two bodies recognised by the Ministry of Environmental Protection, and the map filters by type: large appliances, small devices, standard batteries and lithium batteries. What your own council does beyond this varies from city to city; the municipality's environment page is the place to check.
Lithium batteries: the dangerous case
Batteries in phones, laptops, power banks, power tools and above all e-bikes and e-scooters are lithium-ion. They are energy-dense and ignite when crushed, punctured or overheated, so they do not go into the ordinary battery box at a shop but to a dedicated e-waste or lithium drop-off; the MAI map marks those separately. An e-bike or e-scooter battery is a large, hazardous item in its own right: do not dismantle it at home, do not bin it, and do not store it in a stairwell. Hand it in at a lithium drop-off or a shop that sells light electric vehicles.
Swollen, leaking or damaged batteries
A swollen battery (mostly in phones and laptops) or a leaking one does not go into a shop box. Keep it apart, in a rigid container, somewhere cool and ventilated, away from heat and impact, and hand it to a municipal recycling centre or the council's environment department. If it heats up or smokes: outside, on a non-flammable surface, and keep your distance.
Storing them at home until then
Most people collect batteries in a drawer for months. A few rules remove the one real risk in that, a short circuit: • Tape the terminals of 9V, lithium and button batteries so metal cannot bridge them. • Keep lithium batteries apart from the rest. • A rigid container, not a bag, somewhere cool and ventilated, not in the sun and not in the car. • Do not hoard: take the container along on the next supermarket run.
Car batteries
A car battery (lead-acid) holds acid and lead and belongs in no shop box. If a garage or battery shop replaces it, the old one stays there; if you replaced it yourself, hand it to a battery shop or a dedicated drop-off. Do not store it at home on its side or in the sun.
FAQ
Can batteries go in the orange bin?
No. The orange bin is for packaging only. Batteries go to a collection box at a shop that sells batteries, a municipal recycling centre, or a drop-off from the MAI map, free of charge.
Does a shop have to accept my used batteries?
Yes. Under the Environmental Treatment of Electrical and Electronic Equipment and Batteries Law, every point of sale for portable batteries must place a collection container and accept used batteries without charge.
Where does an e-bike battery go?
To a dedicated lithium drop-off, which the MAI map marks separately, or to a shop that sells light electric vehicles. Not the ordinary battery box, not the bin, and not the stairwell.
What do I do with a swollen battery?
Keep it apart in a rigid container somewhere cool, and hand it to a municipal recycling centre or the council's environment department, not a shop box. If it heats up or smokes, take it outside onto a non-flammable surface and keep away.
Does it cost anything?
No. For a private individual the hand-over is free everywhere: at shops, at the municipal recycling centre and at the recognised bodies' collection points. Anyone charging to take household batteries is acting against the law.
Sources
See also
The obligations described are those of the national law; what each municipality operates beyond them varies from city to city. Check your own council's environment page.