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Battery Recycling in Israel: Where to Dispose of Batteries, Drop-Off Points by City, and Lithium

Shukshuk team · Updated October 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, city by city too, what to do with lithium batteries, which are the dangerous case, and how to keep them at home until you reach a drop-off. The short answer: the nearest drop-off is almost always the supermarket or pharmacy. For a municipal point, and for lithium batteries, look your city up on the MAI map.

Which battery goes where

Alkaline (AA, AAA, 9V)
Found in
Remotes, toys
Where
Collection box at any shop that sells batteries, or a municipal recycling centre
Button cells
Found in
Watches, hearing aids
Where
Shop collection box
Lithium-ion
Found in
Phones, laptops, power banks
Where
A dedicated e-waste drop-off, not the ordinary battery box
E-bike or e-scooter battery
Found in
Light electric vehicles
Where
A dedicated lithium drop-off (on the MAI map)
Car battery
Found in
Vehicles
Where
Garage, battery shop or dedicated drop-off
Swollen, leaking or damaged
Found in
Any device
Where
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.

Battery recycling by city

Most large cities have signed with MAI, and each has a council page on the MAI site listing the points in town, with a map. The page separates two kinds of point: collection centres, where you bring small and medium devices (up to 55 cm) and batteries, with opening hours; and collection points, which have a dedicated battery container and a separate one for e-waste. The map has its own filter for "lithium batteries, such as bicycle and scooter batteries". • Tel Aviv-Yafo, Jerusalem, Haifa, Petah Tikva, Ramat Gan, Ashdod, Netanya, Holon, Rehovot, Kfar Saba, Herzliya, Modiin-Maccabim-Reut and Givatayim: signed with MAI (Ramat Gan since 2015, Netanya only since November 2025). Find the city on the MAI councils page and filter by "batteries" or "lithium batteries". • Beer Sheva: per the municipality's site, the containers for electrical appliances, electronics and batteries are open to residents 24/7, and the e-waste centre is at 2 Yishmael Street. • Rishon LeZion: per the municipality's site, batteries are collected in "mihzoriyot", collection boxes in photo shops, schools and other spots around the city. • A city not listed here may work with the other recognised body, T.M.I (Israel Recycling Corporation), recognised in 2024 in place of Ecommunity. The council's environment page will say. And in every city, a shop that sells batteries must take them back.

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.

Where can I recycle batteries in Tel Aviv or Jerusalem?

At any shop that sells batteries, and also at the city's collection centres and points. Both cities have signed with MAI (Tel Aviv-Yafo in 2023, Jerusalem in 2022), and each one's list of points is on its council page on the MAI site, with filters for batteries and lithium batteries.

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

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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.

Have an appliance that still works? Give it away instead