February 18 is National Battery Day. A day when Alessandro Volta, who is credited with inventing the electric battery in 1800, is revered. With his invention, the world changed. Batteries can be bought just about anywhere and are essential to have for most common household items.

Can you imagine life without batteries? Life would be much more difficult and time-consuming.

That said, ensuring that batteries are recycled and disposed of properly is just as essential. When batteries are not disposed of properly, they can spark and cause fires, which can have harmful environmental impacts.

If you are wondering what to do with old batteries as they pile up, we have a solution for you!

Luckily for King County residents, the Hazardous Waste Management Program has convenient collection sites available to help with proper disposal.

Here are some disposal tips when visiting a collection site:

The hazardous waste collection sites accept alkaline buttons, removable cellphone batteries, laptop batteries, lead-acid batteries, rechargeable batteries, and car batteries.

• Limit 5 lead acid auto or marine batteries per visit (batteries from electric vehicles are not accepted)
• Maximum for a single non-auto or marine battery is 25 lbs. (lithium, other rechargeables, or alkaline)
• There is a 50-pound total weight limit for any combination of non-auto batteries per visit.

Once gathered, individually tape the ends of lithium or rechargeable batteries to prevent a fire hazard.

We advise residents to tape the ends of the batteries and separate them by type. Next, store them in separate bags and head down to a disposal site. It’s just that easy.