Scrap car battery prices: what a lead acid battery is worth and where to sell it
A lead acid car battery is roughly two thirds lead by weight, and lead is a metal a yard will always pay for, so a dead battery is never rubbish. It is also classed as hazardous waste, which decides who may take it, how it must be stored and what paperwork goes with it.
Scrap car battery prices: key facts
| What it is worth | Paid by weight at a battery rate, below the rate for clean lead because the lead is locked in grids and paste inside plastic and acid. A car battery weighs 12 to 20 kg, a van or 4x4 battery up to 30 kg |
|---|---|
| Who buys them | Scrap yards and metal recyclers permitted to take hazardous waste, specialist battery recyclers, and the collection services that supply garages and motor factors |
| The classification | Hazardous waste. A business needs a registered carrier and a consignment note for every movement; a household takes them to the council recycling centre free |
| Free take back | Battery producers must collect waste automotive batteries free of charge from garages and other final holders on request |
| Storage | Upright, under cover, in an acid proof bunded container, away from drains, with the terminals protected |
| Electric and hybrid batteries | Not scrap in the same sense. Lithium packs need specialist handling and are not sold over a weighbridge |
What a scrap car battery is worth
A battery is bought for its lead. The grids and the paste inside are lead and lead compounds, and together they make up around 60 to 70 per cent of the weight; the rest is a polypropylene case, separators and dilute sulphuric acid. A recycler drains the acid, breaks the case, recovers the plastic and smelts the lead, so the price it pays per kilo of whole battery sits well below the price of clean lead scrap, which you can see on our scrap lead price page. Yards usually quote a battery rate per kilo or a flat figure per unit, and the figure tracks the world lead price, which moves through the year. A garage replacing a few batteries a week builds up a pallet in a couple of months, and a pallet is worth a collection. Our guide to scrap lead covers the other sources of lead and the handling rules that go with all of them.
Who buys them
Three kinds of buyer. Scrap yards and metal recyclers that hold a permit or exemption for hazardous waste, which is many but not all of them, so phone first. Specialist battery recyclers and collectors, who supply garages, motor factors and fleets with a container and empty it on a round, paying by weight or offsetting the collection against the value. And the producers: under the Waste Batteries and Accumulators Regulations 2009 the companies that put automotive batteries on the UK market must collect waste automotive batteries free of charge from garages and other final holders who ask, which is worth knowing when a collector proposes a charge. The directory below lists the dealers, recyclers and collectors in your postcode area.
The hazardous waste rules
Waste lead acid batteries are hazardous waste because of the lead and the acid. For a business that means four things. The batteries may only be handed to a registered waste carrier, which you can confirm on the public register. Every movement needs a hazardous waste consignment note rather than an ordinary transfer note, and you keep your copy for three years. They must go to a site permitted or exempt to receive them. And they must never go in general waste, in a skip or in with ordinary scrap: a battery crushed in a baler or a shredder releases acid and lead into everything around it. Our guides to hazardous waste and the waste transfer note explain the paperwork, and battery recycling covers the rules for the smaller batteries that arrive alongside.
Households are outside these rules: take a car battery to the council's household waste recycling centre, where it is accepted free, or back to the shop that sold the replacement, as many retailers take them.
Storing them safely
Keep batteries upright, so acid cannot leak from the vents. Stand them in a container that is acid proof and bunded, meaning it will hold any spill, under cover and away from surface water drains. Keep metal objects off the terminals, which can short and spark, and do not stack them so that the terminals of one touch the case of another. Cracked or leaking batteries go in a sealed acid proof container of their own. Never attempt to drain the acid to lighten the load or raise the price: it is dangerous, it is illegal to pour away, and recyclers pay for whole batteries.
Electric and hybrid batteries are different
The lithium ion packs in electric and hybrid cars are not scrap in the way a lead acid battery is. They carry hundreds of volts, can catch fire if damaged, and contain lithium, cobalt, nickel and manganese that are recovered by specialist processors rather than smelted at a lead works. An electric car at the end of its life goes to an authorised treatment facility that is set up for high voltage packs, and a damaged pack is handled by the manufacturer's network or a specialist. Do not offer one to an ordinary scrap yard, and do not store one with your lead acid batteries. Our guide to scrapping a car covers what happens to electric cars at the end of the road.
Frequently asked questions
How much do scrap yards pay for car batteries?
By weight, at a battery rate well below the rate for clean lead, or a flat figure per unit. A typical car battery weighs 12 to 20 kg and is around two thirds lead. The figure follows the world lead price, shown on our scrap lead price page.
Can I put a car battery in the bin?
No. A lead acid battery is hazardous waste. Households take them to the council recycling centre free of charge or back to the shop that sold the replacement. Businesses must use a registered carrier and a consignment note.
Do I need a consignment note for scrap car batteries?
Yes, if you are a business. Every movement of hazardous waste needs a hazardous waste consignment note, kept for three years, and the batteries must go to a permitted or exempt site via a registered carrier.
Will a garage or battery supplier take old car batteries?
Producers of automotive batteries must collect waste automotive batteries free of charge from garages and other final holders on request, under the 2009 regulations, and many retailers take them back when they sell a replacement.
How should a garage store old car batteries?
Upright, under cover, in an acid proof bunded container away from drains, with the terminals protected from shorting. Cracked or leaking batteries go in a sealed container of their own.
Can I scrap an electric car battery?
Not at an ordinary scrap yard. Lithium ion packs carry high voltage and a fire risk and are recovered by specialist processors through authorised treatment facilities and the manufacturers' networks.
Sources
- The Waste Batteries and Accumulators Regulations 2009
- Waste Batteries and Accumulators Regulations 2009, regulation 36, collection of waste automotive batteries
- Waste batteries: producer responsibility, GOV.UK
- Dispose of business or commercial waste: hazardous waste, GOV.UK
- Classify different types of waste, GOV.UK