Alkaline Battery Recycling in Seattle

Where to drop off alkaline battery recycling in Seattle

2 local options, verified against listing sources.

• North Seattle Household Hazardous Waste Facility Seattle · Free
• South Seattle Household Hazardous Waste Facility Seattle · Free

King County household hazardous waste program

Other local programs

• North Seattle Household Hazardous Waste Facility

  Free HHW drop-off for all King County residents. 12550 Stone Avenue North, Seattle 98133. Hours: Sunday/Monday/Tuesday 9 AM-5 PM. No appointment needed. Closed major holidays.

• South Seattle Household Hazardous Waste Facility

  Free HHW drop-off for all King County residents. 8100 2nd Ave S, Seattle 98108 (Recology site lists as 8105 Fifth Avenue S). Hours: Thursday/Friday/Saturday 9 AM-5 PM. No appointment needed. Closed major holidays.

• Factoria HHW Drop-Off Service (Bellevue)

  Free HHW drop-off for all King County residents at 13800 SE 32nd St, Bellevue. Third permanent HHW site serving the Eastside.

• King County Wastemobile

  Free traveling HHW collection events across communities in King County, February through October. 10 AM-5 PM on listed dates. No fee. Standard HHW limits apply. Locations include UW Bothell Campus, Redmond Home Depot, Kent/Covington Fire Station 75, and others — rotates through the county. Year-round weekend location at The Outlet Collection in Auburn (1101 Outlet Collection Dr SW, every Sat-Sun).

  Phone: 206-296-4692

• E-Cycle Washington (state program)

  Free recycling for TVs, computers, laptops, monitors, tablets, e-readers, and portable DVD players. Producer-funded program (Chapter 70A.500 RCW) — free for Washington residents and small businesses. Hundreds of drop-off sites across the state. Peripherals (keyboards, mice, printers) not covered — take to Best Buy or Staples for free.

  Phone: 800-732-9253

• PaintCare Washington

  Statewide paint stewardship program. Free drop-off for latex and oil-based architectural paints, primers, stains, sealers, shellac, and varnish at participating retailers (Sherwin-Williams, Miller Paint, Rodda Paint, Ace Hardware, True Value, and others). Containers up to 5 gallons accepted. Funded by per-container fee at point of sale.

  Phone: 855-724-6809

• SPU Special Item Curbside Pickup

  Seattle Public Utilities customers can schedule on-demand curbside pickup for batteries, small electronics, lightbulbs, styrofoam, and more. Batteries: first pickup FREE per year ($5 after), limit 2 one-gallon bags, tape ends. Small electronics box: first pickup FREE ($20 after), max 2'x2'x2'/60 lb. Large items (furniture, appliances, TVs over 2'x2'x2'): $31/item. Schedule online or at 206-684-3000.

  Phone: 206-684-3000

• Call2Recycle / Battery Network (drop-off)

  Free rechargeable and lithium-ion battery drop-off at participating Seattle-area Home Depot, Lowe's, Staples, and other retailers. Do NOT bring damaged, defective, or recalled batteries (DDR) to collection sites.

• Home Collection Program (King County)

  Free at-home HHW pickup for King County residents age 65+ or with a disability who cannot access a collection site. Operates Wednesdays 9 AM-3 PM, but may have a backlog. Does NOT collect latex paint, tires, electronics, or medications.

  Phone: 206-296-4692

• Best Buy & Staples (retail take-back)

  Best Buy accepts most electronics free (limit 3 items/day per household). Staples accepts up to 7 items/day free, plus ink/toner cartridges with Staples Rewards ($2/cartridge). Both accept keyboards, printers, and other peripherals not covered by E-Cycle Washington.

• Auburn Wastemobile (year-round weekend)

  Year-round weekend HHW collection at The Outlet Collection Mall, 1101 Outlet Collection Dr SW, Auburn. Every Saturday and Sunday 10 AM-5 PM. No appointment needed. Free for King County residents.

What to know in Seattle

Local rules and laws

• Washington Electronic Product Recycling Law (RCW 70A.500, 2006): created E-Cycle Washington — one of the first state-level producer-funded e-waste programs in the US. Covers TVs, computers, monitors, laptops, tablets, e-readers, and portable DVD players. Manufacturers fund collection and recycling.
• Seattle Director's Rule SW-404: bans batteries and covered electronics from municipal solid waste in Seattle (garbage, recycling carts, transfer stations). Violations result in a tag on the cart asking the resident to remove the items — no fines. Effective January 1, 2025 for batteries.
• WA Battery EPR Law (SB 5144, signed May 11, 2023): producer-funded statewide battery collection program. Bans portable batteries (rechargeable and primary single-use) from the trash. Program implementation was still rolling out as of 2026; the law was driven partly by battery-caused fires at Seattle transfer stations and MRFs.
• RCW 70A.205 — general solid waste management: electronics in the trash must be separated for recycling; disposal bans for lead-acid batteries, mercury-containing lights, and other universal wastes also apply. King County has additional local requirements.
• PaintCare Washington launched based on the state's Paint Stewardship Law: PaintCare operates drop-off sites across the state funded by a per-container fee at purchase — covers architectural paints, primers, stains, varnishes, and sealers up to 5 gallons.

Useful local details

• Seattle's two permanent HHW facilities (North and South) run completely different schedules: North is Sun-Mon-Tue, South is Thu-Fri-Sat. They're closed Wednesday and Sunday — exactly the days people try to go. The North facility was originally described as having a different address (12550 Stone Ave N at the Seattle.gov page lists Sunday/Monday/Tuesday).
• King County HHW accepts waste from ALL King County residents, not just Seattle residents — the North and South Seattle facilities plus the Factoria (Bellevue) site and traveling Wastemobile. This is unusually generous compared to city-only programs in other metros.
• Seattle's Special Item Curbside Pickup includes one FREE battery pickup per year, a free small electronics box per year, free curbside motor oil/used cooking oil, and free styrofoam pickup — a genuinely useful program many Seattleites don't know they have.
• E-Cycle Washington does NOT cover computer peripherals (keyboards, mice, printers), contrary to what many Seattle residents assume. Those go to Best Buy/Staples or the HHW facilities instead.
• The Wastemobile has been running since 1989 — one of the longest-running mobile HHW collection programs in the US. It visits ~20 locations/year across King County from February through October.
• Battery-caused fires at Seattle transfer stations and in collection trucks have been a major safety driver behind both the Seattle SW-404 ban and the state battery EPR law. Seattle's South Transfer Station had multiple battery fires in 2024-2025.
• PaintCare Washington accepts latex AND oil-based paint at the same drop-off sites — unlike some states where HHW handles the oil-based stuff. Sherwin-Williams, Miller Paint, and Rodda Paint are the most common Seattle-area PaintCare sites.
• King County's Haz Waste Help Line (206-296-4692) also gives advice on safer alternatives to hazardous household products — a free consultation service.

Related Seattle guides

• EV Battery Recycling in Seattle →
• Lithium Ion Battery Disposal in Seattle →