Across the map, most of the legislation focuses on lead-acid batteries (the kinds you’ll find in cars and boats, not remotes or controllers). Hawaii, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming, and Puerto Rico have all banned lead-acid batteries from being landfilled. Instead of chucking them in a dumpster, the batteries have to be taken to a retailer, wholesaler, collection, or recycling facility. For instance, Lowe’s will take your power tool batteries.
Other states put the restrictions on battery manufacturers and sellers rather than the buyers. In California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Nebraska, Vermont, Washington, and Washington, D.C., these manufacturers have to join an existing or fund a new battery stewardship organization that handles collection and recycling. The majority of these states still make it illegal to throw batteries in the trash, but the responsibility to stop this bad habit is more on the companies than the people actually pitching them.
Meanwhile, Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Tennessee have no laws whatsoever against tossing batteries. Still, not the most environmentally friendly thing in the world, so try to recycle lithium-ion batteries anyway as a rule of thumb.
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