Battery Recycling

Upcycle is an ISO certified battery recycling company based in Auckland. We are currently one company carrying export permit on various waste batteries in New Zealand. Commonly used batteries (household and industrial) can be accepted.

We are initiating battery recycling within New Zealand to reduce the amount ending up in our landfill where heavy metals and toxic substances can leak into the grounds when battery corrodes causing water and soil pollution. Batteries are made from important resources so recycling battery can recover valuable materials.

Export Permit

Lead-acid

Lead-acid

Export Permit

Lead-acid

Lead-acid

Export Permit

Alkaline, Li-ion, Ni-cd, Ni-mh

Alkaline, Li-ion, Ni-cd, Ni-mh

WHY UPCYCLE??

Upcycle is the only waste battery recycler to be certified with ISO 14001 and ISO 9001. ISO shortened for International Organization for Standardization is an international standard-setting body composed of representatives from various national standards organizations.

Our ISO14001: Environmental Management System is all about minimizing any negative impacts on the environment, complying with applicable environmental laws and regulations, and continually improving in these areas.

At Upcycle, we do what is right for the environment, ISO certified proven.

SAFETY TIPS

- Use only the type of battery specified by the manufacturer on the device.

- Always store batteries in a dry place in a room temperature.

- Place batteries in the device in a correct way. (+ve and –ve terminal)

- Keep batteries away from children and pets. - Do not store waste batteries in a metal container.

- To store waste batteries for recycling, all terminals must be taped to avoid short-circuiting.

- Do not attempt to recharge non-rechargeable batteries.

- Always turn the device off before removing batteries.

- Do not overheat the batteries.

- Battery leak can be caused by trying to recharge disposable cells, mixing battery types, mixing new batteries with old batteries, overheating, storing batteries in damp environment and leaving batteries in the device during long term storage.

PLEASE NOTE:

Different types of batteries contain different chemicals therefore, they need to go through different recycling processes to recover the specific resources.

For this reason, we require the sorting to be done before batteries come into our warehouse. If we find batteries have not been sorted, then there will be sorting (labour) cost added.

* Mixed Batteries Sorting Fee

- $4 per KG

Type	Human health and safety	Suggested packaging method
Alkaline/Zinc/Dry cell	No danger to human health and safety. Some danger if they are leaking.	Can be loosely packaged whether leaking or not.
NiMH	Present no dangers.	Battery packs do not need any protection when packed with those of a similar physical design. Cells that have tags with a length that is grater than the radius of the cell should have the tags removed, be individually wrapped in plastic, or have the terminals taped.
NiCd	As per NiMH.	As per NiMH.
Lithium metal	Present no dangers unless it is in a damaged state or it is dismantled. Lithium metal is highly reactive.
Li-ion batteries	Present no danger if it have not been dismantled and has a non-flexible housing.	Li-ion batteries (as opposed to individual cells) generally have recessed terminals as well as output over current control and protection making them safe for transportation. The exception is batteries that are recalled that have a high likelihood of causing a fire. Can be loosely packaged.
Li-ion cells	Danger of fire if subjected to damage. Present no danger if discharged or in a damaged state.	Must be wrapped in a manner that prevents them from damage while in transit. At least one layer of bubble wrap per cell should be sufficient.
LiPo batteries	As per Li-ion batteries but a non-flexible housing may not be present.
LiPO cells	As per Li-ion cells.
Gel cell/VRLA	No danger unless split open due to mishandling.	Prevent the terminals from being shorted in transit by coving then in PVC tape (electrical tape).
Lead acid	Possible danger of acid spills if mishandled and the degree of spillage depends on whether it is zero maintenance or if it has removable caps for maintenance use.	Keep upright and prevent the terminals from being shorted in transit.
Button cells	Danger to health if swallowed. Keep out of reach of children.	Can be loosely packaged but it is preferable that the larger lithium cells are either placed in a metal canister, or they are prevented from being shorted used plastic film or adhesive tape. Place in a suitable plastic bag to prevent them from falling out of the package.

Type

Human health and safety

Suggested packaging method

Alkaline/Zinc/Dry cell

No danger to human health and safety. Some danger if they are leaking.

Can be loosely packaged whether leaking or not.

NiMH

Present no dangers.

Battery packs do not need any protection when packed with those of a similar physical design. Cells that have tags with a length that is grater than the radius of the cell should have the tags removed, be individually wrapped in plastic, or have the terminals taped.

NiCd

As per NiMH.

Lithium metal

Present no dangers unless it is in a damaged state or it is dismantled. Lithium metal is highly reactive.

Li-ion batteries

Present no danger if it have not been dismantled and has a non-flexible housing.

Li-ion batteries (as opposed to individual cells) generally have recessed terminals as well as output over current control and protection making them safe for transportation. The exception is batteries that are recalled that have a high likelihood of causing a fire. Can be loosely packaged.

Li-ion cells

Danger of fire if subjected to damage. Present no danger if discharged or in a damaged state.

Must be wrapped in a manner that prevents them from damage while in transit. At least one layer of bubble wrap per cell should be sufficient.

LiPo batteries

As per Li-ion batteries but a non-flexible housing may not be present.

LiPO cells

As per Li-ion cells.

Gel cell/VRLA

No danger unless split open due to mishandling.

Prevent the terminals from being shorted in transit by coving then in PVC tape (electrical tape).

Lead acid

Possible danger of acid spills if mishandled and the degree of spillage depends on whether it is zero maintenance or if it has removable caps for maintenance use.

Keep upright and prevent the terminals from being shorted in transit.

Button cells

Danger to health if swallowed. Keep out of reach of children.

Can be loosely packaged but it is preferable that the larger lithium cells are either placed in a metal canister, or they are prevented from being shorted used plastic film or adhesive tape. Place in a suitable plastic bag to prevent them from falling out of the package.

FAQ

1. Why recycle batteries?

Batteries contain corrosive materials and heavy metals that can contaminate the environment and harm human health. If not properly recycled, toxic substances can pose serious threats.

2. What is a primary battery and a secondary battery?

Primary batteries are non-rechargeable batteries that can only be used once. Secondary are rechargeable batteries which can be used over and over by recharging.

3. Is it safe to store used batteries around home?

Batteries that we use every day do pose a risk of short-circuit. In order to reduce any risk of short-circuit we need to properly secure a positive terminal on a battery. The + symbol marks the positive terminal therefore, placing a piece of masking tape over the end so it does not come into contact with metal or other batteries will reduce the chance of short-circuit. All batteries should be kept safely out of reach of small children and should be stored in a cool, dry area.

4. What happens when a battery is short-circuited?

Short-circuit could cause fire or explosion in extreme cases.

5. What is the environmental benefits of recycling batteries?

Batteries contain resources such as steel, manganese and zinc which can be recycled. By recycling these resources, our consumption of natural resources are reduced.

Battery Recycling

WHY UPCYCLE??

SAFETY TIPS

Corporate Battery Recycling

Accepted Batteries for Free of Charge

PLEASE NOTE:

What Do We Charge?

PLEASE NOTE:

Battery Bucket Back (BBB) System

Battery Shipment

New & Events

Services

FAQ

1. Why recycle batteries?

2. What is a primary battery and a secondary battery?

3. Is it safe to store used batteries around home?

4. What happens when a battery is short-circuited?

5. What is the environmental benefits of recycling batteries?

Contact Us

Upcycle Ltd

Contact

Working Hours