Batteries in Montgomery County, MD — unofficial (tape terminals · HHW all chemistries · retail locator link)

Hours, fees, and gates change. Confirm on the official page the morning you go. This page is unofficial and not the county. Not a hauler. Holiday names and holiday clock hours: not stated. Sunday gate for HHW: HHW pages say Frederick Road; facility/hours pages close 16101 on Sunday — unreconciled. This page does not pick a winner. Retail store lists are locator tools only — do not treat this page as a scraped store directory.

Which kind is it?

1. 1

   Home batteries — alkaline / dry-cell, lithium, lithium-ion, lithium-polymer, Ni-Cd, NiMH (tool packs), button cells, UPS, cordless-tool packs?

   HHW compound · Recycling Area

   Household Hazardous Waste drop-off at Shady Grove. How Do I: accepts all batteries, including alkaline. Residents: no charge. No quantity limit. Enter from Route 355 / Frederick Road; Recycling Area; blue chain-link HHW compound. Proof of residency. Tape or bag terminals before you go. Facility clock: Mon–Sat 7 a.m.–5 p.m.; Sun 9 a.m.–5 p.m. commercial entrance only. Separate HHW-only clock: not stated beyond “Transfer Station hours of operation.”

2. 2

   Lead-acid / car / vehicle battery from home?

   HHW · residents · no charge

   Same HHW compound. How Do I: lead acid or vehicle batteries from residents at no charge. Business path is ECOWISE (choice 5), not free resident HHW. Fees page also lists rechargeable / lead-acid / other non-alkaline as residents-only at the Recyclable Materials Drop-Off Area.

3. 3

   Single-family / townhome with county-provided recycling — want curb pickup?

   On-call curbside · schedule 311

   Schedule household alkaline and rechargeable batteries with electronic items and scrap metal recycling via MC311 (311 or 240-777-0311) or online (form URL: not stated). Tape ends with clear non-metallic tape; small lidded plastic container (311 also: Ziploc-type bags). Not in blue bin or trash. Set out by 7 a.m. Collection 7 a.m.–9 p.m. on recycling day. Request by 7 p.m. the day before (311). 311 note: batteries and small electronics only collected as part of a larger electronics/scrap pickup — confirm when you schedule. Multi-family / municipal contract: not stated on batteries How Do I as this curbside path.

4. 4

   Prefer a store drop-off near you?

   Call2Recycle / Battery Network locator

   County How Do I points to the Call2Recycle drop-off locator (Call2Recycle is now The Battery Network — same locator mission). Enter your ZIP; call the retailer before you go. What each store accepts (alkaline vs rechargeable vs e-bike / high-energy): check the locator listing — not scraped here. Earth911 is another public locator if useful. Link out only; do not clone databases on this page.

5. 5

   Business / organization / Small Quantity Generator?

   ECOWISE · fee · Mon–Fri 8–12

   ECOWISE at the same HHW compound. Mon–Fri 8 a.m.–12 p.m. No appointment. Register first. Pay per pound (credit card or business check to Clean Harbors; no cash). Credit-card surcharge not to exceed 3%. Posted examples: alkaline/button $0.63/lb; gel cell $0.63/lb; lithium $6.97/lb; Ni-Cd $2.37/lb. Lead-acid listed as accepted; price line if not on the per-pound table: call 240-777-6587. Or use the retail locator. Over 220 lb hazardous waste / month or over 2.2 lb acute: not ECOWISE — call 311; destination: not stated.

6. 6

   Thinking trash, blue bin, or the electronics pile for loose batteries?

   Wrong path · fire risk

   How Do I: do not dispose of batteries in regular trash or recycling. Reduce Risk of Trash Fires page names alkaline and rechargeable (lithium, Ni-Cd, lead-acid) batteries as trash fire hazards. Electronics How Do I / campus pad is for electronics with circuit boards — rechargeable / tool / UPS batteries belong at HHW (or curbside with the taped-container rules), not the electronics pile as loose cells.

7. 7

   Damaged, swollen, leaking, or recalled lithium pack?

   County special path: not stated

   Batteries How Do I does not publish a separate damaged/defective/recalled (DDR) procedure. Do not invent one. Call 311 (or 240-777-0311) before you haul a damaged pack. The Battery Network publishes its own DDR / safety guidance for participating retail sites — that is the locator program’s rule, not a county How Do I line. Confirm before you go.

8. 8

   Thinking Poolesville Beauty Spot for batteries?

   Wrong path · bulk trash only

   Beauty Spot (19200 Jerusalem Road, Saturdays 8 a.m.–4 p.m.) is bulk trash up to 499 lb for residents. It does not accept household hazardous waste. Batteries belong at Shady Grove HHW (or curbside / retail locator), not Poolesville.

Where to go

Transport: bag each battery or tape terminals with masking / non-metallic tape. Do not mix small batteries with coins and house keys in a pocket. Last-checked 4 Sep 2026.

Unreconciled Sunday: HHW / batteries pages put drop-off in the Recycling Area via Frederick Road; facility/hours pages say Sunday use the Commercial and Truck entrance only (16055 Shady Grove Road, 9 a.m.–5 p.m.). This page does not pick a winner. Confirm the morning you go. Last-checked 4 Sep 2026.

Poolesville Beauty Spot (19200 Jerusalem Road, Saturdays 8 a.m.–4 p.m.) is bulk trash up to 499 lb for residents. It is not a battery drop-off. Last-checked 4 Sep 2026.

Bring this

• Proof of residency (residential HHW): Maryland license or photo ID with a Montgomery County address; a current utility bill with a physical MoCo address and your name; or a mortgage statement / lease in your name for a physical MoCo address. Out-of-county plates still need one of those. Proof of County Residency.
• Tape (clear / masking / other non-metallic) for terminals — or individual plastic bags per battery.
• Small lidded plastic container (or Ziploc-type bags for curbside) for loose cells. Do not toss loose batteries in a pocket with coins or keys.
• For curbside: schedule with 311 first; itemized list; set out by 7 a.m. on recycling day.
• Covered load if you self-haul (hours page). PPE (high-vis vest, hard hat, closed-toe shoes) is required on the main tipping floor, not described as required for Recycling Area HHW hand-offs.

Not here

• Batteries in regular trash (fire risk — How Do I + Reduce Risk of Trash Fires).
• Batteries in the blue recycling bin.
• Loose rechargeable / tool / UPS packs on the electronics pad as if they were TVs (wrong pad — use HHW / taped curbside rules).
• Poolesville Beauty Spot as a battery destination.
• Scraped Call2Recycle / Battery Network / Earth911 store lists on this page.
• Business free drop-off of rechargeable / lead-acid / other non-alkaline at the Recyclable Materials Drop-Off Area (fees page: residents only).
• Invented damaged/defective lithium county procedure (call 311; Battery Network has its own DDR rules for retail sites).
• Medical sharps / meds pages (YMYL — not this site).

Official sources

• How Do I — batteries (all chemistries at HHW; no quantity limit; tape/bag; curbside; Call2Recycle locator; lead-acid; ECOWISE)
• How Do I — household hazardous waste (accept list includes battery types; 15 gal / 75 lb call-ahead; residency)
• Reduce the Risk for Trash Fires (do not trash batteries)
• Recycling service details (on-call electronics & household batteries)
• MC311 — electronics and household batteries (schedule rules; tape; Ziploc/lidded container)
• ECOWISE (Mon–Fri 8 a.m.–12 p.m.; battery price table)
• User Fees (rechargeable / lead-acid / non-alkaline: residents only)
• Trash and Recycling Drop-Off Hours and Events
• Shady Grove Processing Facility and Transfer Station
• Proof of County Residency
• Poolesville Beauty Spot (bulk trash only — not batteries)
• The Battery Network locator (Call2Recycle is now The Battery Network — link out only; do not scrape)
• Call2Recycle locations locator (link out only; do not scrape)
• Earth911 locator (link out only; do not scrape)