City makes battery recycling easy

By Lethbridge Herald on October 9, 2025.

Alejandra Pulido-Guzman
Lethbridge Herald

The City of Lethbridge, in partnership with Call2Recycle Canada, has launched a pilot curbside battery collection program, where residents can bag their dead batteries and set them out for curbside pick-up the same day as their green cart.

Throughout the week of Oct. 6-10, 15,800 households in Lethbridge will receive a battery collection bag delivered to their address by the Lethbridge Herald, with easy-to-follow instructions for safe packing.

Mandi Parker, general manager of Waste and Environment with the City of Lethbridge, said Wednesday the pickup will take place during the last two weeks of November. 

“What we will have you do is collect all your old batteries at home, place them in the bags we are providing, and we’ll have you put your bags on top of your green cart the last two weeks of November,” said Parker. 

She said on green cart collection days, a team will come by ahead of the collection truck and pick up the bags that are filled with batteries from on top of the cart. 

Most household and single-use batteries are accepted, including, AA, AAA, C, D, 9V, coin/button cells and batteries under 5 kg. 

However, rechargeables, NiCad, NiMH, lithium-Ion, car batteries, battery packs and industrial batteries are not accepted.

For safe disposal of batteries, the City is asking residents to stick tape over the positive (+) terminals, place batteries inside the provided bag, close it securely and store it away from children and pets.

Once collected between Nov. 18-28, bags will be transported to approved recycling facilities for sorting and processing.

Households that don’t receive a bag can still participate by picking up a recyclable battery collection bag at any of the City’s yard waste sites, or in the foyer of City Hall. They can also use a store-bought resealable clear plastic bag. 

“We are hoping residents take advantage of this program,” said Parker. “The results in Ontario when they piloted out there were excellent, so we are hoping that Lethbridge can participate as well.”

She said it’s important to recycle batteries, because they can potentially ignite and explode if they are not disposed of properly. They pose a significant risk to Waste and Environment crews and other residents and should never be placed in curbside carts. 

Camille Vandeerstraeten, director of communications with Call2Recycle Canada, said they are a not-for-profit organization that has been around for 30 years, and they are the leader in Canada for collection and recycling of batteries. 

“We launched our program ‘recycle your batteries Canada’ in Alberta in April 2025 and Lethbridge is the first city to do a curbside pickup,” said Vandeerstraeten. “We know that convenience is key if we want people to participate and drop off their used batteries.”