Where can Atlanta residents drop off lithium ion battery disposal?

CHaRM Atlanta (Center for Hard to Recycle Materials) accepts most household items. Accepts a wide range of hard-to-recycle items. Phone: (404) 600-6386. Verify hours and accepted items before going.

Why do I need to tape battery terminals?

Lithium-ion batteries can short circuit if the positive and negative terminals touch metal (keys, coins, wires). This can cause fires in collection bins and trucks. Use clear tape or electrical tape to cover the terminals.

Can lithium-ion batteries go in the trash?

Never — lithium-ion batteries are classified as hazardous waste. They can cause fires in landfills and recycling facilities. All states require them to be recycled or disposed as hazardous waste.

Battery Recycling · Atlanta, GA · Local guide

Lithium Ion Battery Disposal in Atlanta

Free at CHaRM Atlanta (tape terminals before dropping off). Free at participating Home Depot, Lowe's, Best Buy, and Staples via the Call2Recycle network. Georgia has no specific lithium-ion landfill ban, but the Georgia Recycling Coalition recommends never bagging or bin-tossing them due to thermal-runaway fires. Ascend Elements in Covington is a major downstream processor but B2B only.

Where to drop off lithium ion battery disposal in Atlanta

5 local options, verified against listing sources.

Fulton County household hazardous waste program

CHaRM Atlanta (Center for Hard to Recycle Materials)

Accepts a wide range of hard-to-recycle items.

Phone: (404) 600-6386 · Website: official program page ↗

Other local programs

CHaRM Atlanta (Center for Hard to Recycle Materials)

Year-round drop-off facility at 1110 Hill St SE, Atlanta. Tue/Thu/Sat by appointment only. Accepts electronics (free for residents, $25/TV or monitor), paint/chemicals (first 20 lbs free, then $0.50-$0.75/lb), mattresses, carpet, Styrofoam, textiles, and more. Book via booking.livethrive.org. No residency check — open to all metro residents.

Phone: 404-600-6386
CHaRM DeKalb

Sister facility to CHaRM Atlanta operated by Live Thrive; accepts the same hard-to-recycle materials. Open Wednesdays 9am-2pm and Saturdays 8am-2pm by appointment only. Document shredding available on Shredding Event days (Atlanta location does not offer shredding).

Phone: 404-600-6386
DeKalb County Sanitation HHW Collection

Free biannual household hazardous waste events at the Central Transfer Station, 3720 Leroy Scott Drive, Decatur, 8am-noon. Accepts aerosols, batteries, adhesives, flammables, lawn-care products, fluorescent bulbs, photo chemicals, art supplies, paint. Open only to DeKalb County residents.

Phone: 404-294-2900
Keep North Fulton Beautiful / Johns Creek HHW Day

Annual North Fulton HHW collection at Johns Creek City Hall, 11360 Lakefield Drive (Saturday, Sept 28 in 2026, 9am-1pm). Pre-registration required by the Thursday before or until cap is reached. Sandy Springs hosts a separate June event at Sandy Springs Youth Sports Complex.
Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful HHW Days

Twice-yearly HHW collection days at Gwinnett County Fairgrounds, 2405 Sugarloaf Parkway, Lawrenceville, 9am-1pm. 2026 dates: Feb 7 and June 13. Gwinnett residents only.

Phone: 770-822-5187
Keep Cobb Beautiful Annual HHW Event

Annual Cobb County HHW collection (next event October 2026; specific date posted in September). Cobb residents only.
Dell Reconnect at Goodwill of North Georgia

Free drop-off at any Goodwill of North Georgia store/donation center for any brand of computers, monitors, printers, scanners, hard drives, keyboards, mice, speakers, cables. Dell handles downstream recycling. Customers should wipe data first.
Atlanta Paint Disposal

Private paint pickup and drop-off service covering metro Atlanta. Drop-off sites at select ACE Hardwares, Benjamin Moore stores, recycling centers, transfer stations. Drop-offs limited to 50 gallons per visit; pickup service available for larger volumes.

Phone: 404-333-8763
Call2Recycle drop-off network (Atlanta)

Free rechargeable and small-format battery drop-off at participating Home Depot and Lowe's locations across metro Atlanta. 1-4 batteries per visit recommended.
Batteries Plus — Atlanta locations

Free recycling for rechargeable and single-use batteries plus fluorescent bulbs/tubes at Atlanta-area Batteries Plus stores. Also accepts small electronics (phones, tablets) and ballasts for recycling.
Global Paint for Charity (Atlanta-based nonprofit)

Nonprofit that accepts donations of usable latex paint for redistribution to schools, community centers, and facilities in developing countries. Drop-off in Atlanta or schedule a pickup. Accepts unopened and opened gallons that are still usable (no hardening, no oil-based).

Phone: 855-853-7772
Ascend Elements (Covington, GA — Li-ion recycling)

Commercial-scale lithium-ion battery recycling facility in Covington, GA (east of Atlanta). Processes EV and consumer Li-ion batteries for material recovery using patented hydro-to-cathode technology. B2B intake — not a consumer drop-off.

Phone: 508-936-7701

What to know in Atlanta

Local rules and laws

Georgia Code Sec. 12-8-28: Lead-acid (automobile) batteries are banned from Georgia landfills; retailers must accept used batteries from customers at point of sale and post the universal recycling notice.
Georgia Code Sec. 12-8-40.1: Scrap tires banned from Georgia landfills (since Dec 31, 1994) unless shredded/chipped to standard. Private citizens may store no more than 25 scrap tires and transport no more than 10 without a permit.
City of Atlanta Code Sec. 130-38 (Ord. 07-O-1335): Owners of multi-family dwellings, condos, or townhouses with 6+ units must provide recycling containers (at minimum for glass, plastics, newspapers, aluminum cans); city does not provide multi-family collection — owners must contract a private hauler.
City of Atlanta curbside rules: Electronics, paint, chemicals, and batteries are prohibited from curbside carts and bulk pickup. Bulk pickup must be requested via ATL311; items cannot be placed at the curb before 7pm the day prior or a citation may be issued.
Georgia has no statewide e-waste recycling law and no landfill ban on TVs, CRTs, computers, or other electronics — disposal programs are voluntary and run by local governments and private partners.
Georgia Code Sec. 12-8-22 et seq. (Georgia Comprehensive Solid Waste Management Act): establishes the framework for solid waste management planning, disposal bans, and recycling programs at the state and local level.
Georgia's Universal Waste Rule (391-3-11-.16): regulates the management of batteries, recalled pesticides, mercury-containing devices, and lamps to encourage recycling over landfill disposal.

Useful local details

Atlanta has no PaintCare program — Georgia is not one of the 13 PaintCare jurisdictions (CA, CO, CT, DC, IL, ME, MD, MN, NY, OR, RI, VT, WA). Residents pay per-pound at CHaRM or use private paint haulers; there is no $0.35-$1.60 PaintCare fee built into paint purchases.
CHaRM Atlanta is by appointment only — walk-ups are turned away. Book via booking.livethrive.org; bring the QR code to the gate.
CHaRM Atlanta does NOT accept alkaline batteries, car batteries, or propane tanks of any size — common surprises for first-time visitors.
Live Thrive operates TWO Metro Atlanta CHaRM locations on different days: Atlanta (1110 Hill St SE) on Tue/Thu/Sat; DeKalb (1225 Columbia Dr, Decatur) on Wed/Sat. Document shredding is only offered at the DeKalb site, on designated Shredding Event days.
CHaRM Residential VIP Membership ($120/yr, tax-deductible) buys guaranteed Saturday appointments, 30-minute early access on Tue/Wed/Thu, one free TV/monitor drop ($25 value), one free mattress drop ($18 value), and discounts to the annual 'A CHaRM'ing Evening' fundraiser at Callanwolde Fine Arts Center.
CHaRM serves the broader metro area without strict residency checks, but the Atlanta 311 article frames it as a City of Atlanta resident service — non-Atlanta residents are welcome but pay the same per-pound fees.
Multi-county HHW landscape: Fulton, DeKalb, Gwinnett, and Cobb each run their own resident-only events on different schedules, so residents near county lines often default to CHaRM for convenience (no residency check, year-round).
Atlanta gives single-family residents 12 free scheduled bulk pickups per year via ATL311, but electronics, batteries, paint, and chemicals are explicitly excluded — those must go to CHaRM or a private recycler.
Georgia is not a PaintCare state, so unlike CO or OR (where paint drop-off sites are everywhere), Atlanta-area paint drop-off is limited to CHaRM (fee-based), periodic county HHW events, or Atlanta Paint Disposal (fee-based private service).
Atlanta is a regional hub for Li-ion battery recycling: Ascend Elements in Covington processes commercial-scale EV battery materials, and Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) runs an EV battery reuse/recycling R&D program. But consumer drop-off for Li-ion is still through CHaRM or retail Call2Recycle bins.
CHaRM charges residents $0.50/lb for the first 100 lbs of paint/chemicals after 20 free lbs — a linear model that makes small-drop (a few cans) cheap but large cleanouts expensive.

For general battery recycling info — what's recyclable, how to prepare items, where the materials go — see the national battery recycling guide. For all Atlanta options, browse battery recycling in Atlanta.

Sources verified for this guide

Updated · 2026-05-19