Dispose of a power bank
What should you do with a worn-out power bank? It’s very important that you dispose of a power bank correctly. Read here what you need to bear in mind.
6 min read | Nov 17, 2021
At a glance: Dispose of a power bank
- Like any battery, a power bank battery contains toxic elements that should not enter the environment
- As a result, never dispose of a power bank at home with your residual or recyclable waste
- The right method of disposing of a power bank helps to recycle precious metals
- Power banks that purely have a charging function can be deposited at a collection point for waste batteries
- Power banks with additional functions are disposed of correctly at a recycling centre or electrical retailer
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Where do you dispose of a power bank?
Under no circumstances can a power bank be disposed of with household waste. Electronic equipment and batteries are disposed of correctly at public collection points (recycling centre or collection container for waste batteries) or via an electrical retailer. A power bank that purely has a charging function can be disposed of in the collection containers for waste batteries. If a power bank has additional functions, such as a torch or USB data memory, it must be taken to a recycling centre as waste electrical equipment. You can tell how to dispose of a power bank by the symbols on the housing or in the manual.
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Is a power bank a battery?
Yes and no. According to the law, a power bank that purely has a charging function is considered a battery and can be thrown into the collection box for waste batteries in the supermarket. A power bank with additional functions (USB data memory, alarm clock, torch) is considered electrical equipment containing a battery. This needs to be disposed of at a recycling centre or electrical retailer. You can tell what applies to your power bank by the symbols on the housing or in the manual.
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What does it cost to dispose of a power bank?
It is so far free of charge to dispose of a power bank at a collection point for waste batteries, at a recycling centre or at an electrical retailer. However, they can only be deposited at an electrical retailer when you purchase a new electrical device.
Power banks: Where should you dispose of them?
If, when charging your power bank, you discover that the battery no longer works correctly, you might consider buying a new power bank. But what should you do with the old one?
An old or faulty power bank must not under any circumstances be disposed of with household waste, not even in the yellow recycling container. Like any battery, the lithium-ion rechargeable battery of a power bank contains toxic components. If a rechargeable battery is taken to a waste incineration plant as residual waste, there is the risk that heavy metals such as mercury will enter the environment and the organism of animals and humans via the food chain.
In addition, by disposing of your power bank correctly, you are making an important contribution to the recycling of scarce resources: Valuable metals such as lithium, nickel, manganese and cobalt are recovered from the old batteries. But where can a power bank be disposed of correctly?
Electrical equipment or battery? Different disposal methods
When disposing of a power bank, it depends whether your power bank is considered a battery or electrical equipment. You can tell how to dispose of your power bank by the respective symbols on the housing or in the manual.
Power banks that purely have a charging function are disposed of like batteries in the collection containers for waste batteries in DIY stores, supermarkets or drugstores.
A power bank with additional functions, such as a torch, USB data memory, alarm clock or even a radio, is considered to be electrical equipment containing a battery. The correct way to dispose of electrical equipment is at a recycling centre in the container for waste electrical equipment. This ensures that the various materials in a power bank with additional functions, such as plastics and metals, can be recycled.
If, when disposing of your faulty power bank, you’re not sure whether it’s classed as a battery or electrical equipment: Even recycling centres have to accept old rechargeable batteries for disposal, so this is guaranteed to be the right place.
You can also contact a recycling centre if you need to dispose of a damaged power bank battery that leaks or is swollen. This could ignite and would be a hazard in the collection box in a supermarket.
Take to a specialist retailer
If you don’t manage to go to the recycling centre, you can also take faulty power banks to electrical retailers for disposal. Above a certain sales area, retailers of electronic products are legally obliged to accept old electrical equipment for disposal when a new device is purchased. You can thus combine the new purchase of a power bank (or another electrical device) with the disposal of the power bank.
Costs of disposing of a power bank
It is so far free of charge to dispose of a power bank, no matter whether you hand it over at a collection point for waste batteries, at a recycling centre or at an electrical retailer.
Buy a new power bank
After disposing of your old power bank , are you now looking to buy a new energy store? The following questions could help you might the best choice.- Which mobile devices should be charged – only your smartphone or also your tablet and laptop? This determines whether you need a power bank with more or less capacity and charging speed. Also check whether your charger is the right one for charging the power bank .
- Where do you use the power bank – on business trips, on holiday, on a round-the-world trip with your backpack? What matters here is the ideal combination of size, weight and capacity in the power bank.
