How to recycle products with sealed batteries
Customers should return the whole product through your electrical take-back route when its battery cannot be removed. They should not put it in a loose-battery collection box or household rubbish. Confirm the handover arrangements before they return it. Cambridge China Bridge can help you check factory disposal instructions.
Route the whole product as electrical waste
Official consumer guidance treats a device whose battery cannot be taken out as an electrical product for recycling. Direct customers to your electrical take-back route with the battery still inside. Do not ask them to break open the casing to reach a loose-battery collection point.
This guide covers customer disposal instructions. Use our WEEE importer guide to prepare questions for the relevant regulator about any producer responsibilities for the appliance and its batteries. Customers should not dismantle a sealed product to follow the disposal instructions.
Give customers instructions they can follow
Suggested wording: “The battery in this product cannot be removed. Keep the product intact and use our electrical recycling route. Do not put it in household rubbish or a loose-battery collection box. Contact us for the return location and handover arrangements before bringing or sending it back.”
Replace the contact instruction with your actual arrangements once confirmed. State where the item goes, whether customers need to contact you first, and how to flag damage. Keep recycling instructions separate from requests for repair, replacement or refund.
Explain the loose-battery distinction
Loose portable batteries use a battery collection point. Vehicle and industrial batteries fall outside that consumer collection route. A product with a battery that cannot be taken out belongs in electrical recycling instead.
For a removable battery, check the manufacturer's removal instructions before advising the customer. Official guidance recommends taping lithium battery terminals before collection to reduce fire risk. If a product is swollen, leaking or damaged, ask the receiving service for handling instructions before arranging its return.
Confirm what your take-back route offers
When a customer buys a new electrical product, confirm with the relevant authority which free like-for-like recycling arrangements your business must provide for online and in-store purchases. Publish the arrangements your business actually provides rather than promising unrestricted collection of every electrical item.
For household electrical waste, the official guidance also identifies household waste recycling centres as a disposal option. Ask customers to check the receiving site's arrangements before travelling. For unsellable stock held by your business, use our business waste disposal guide rather than treating stock as a household return.
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Check the instructions before production
Ask the factory to confirm whether the battery is removable by the customer and supply the relevant manual page. Check that the manual, packaging and customer support wording direct the same model to the same disposal route. Have your China staff compare the approved wording with the production sample.
Review the crossed-out wheelie bin symbol alongside the written instructions: official guidance says it means the item should go to an appropriate recycling collection point rather than household rubbish. Use our electrical import rules guide for the wider product checks.
Frequently asked questions
Can a sealed-battery product go in a battery bin?
No. If the battery cannot be taken out, return the whole device through an electrical recycling route, keeping the battery inside.
Should customers open the casing to remove the battery?
Do not instruct customers to break open a sealed casing for recycling. Keep the product intact and confirm its electrical return arrangements.
Is electrical take-back free when buying a replacement?
Confirm with the relevant authority which free like-for-like recycling arrangements your business must provide when a new electrical product is bought, including online purchases. Confirm the handover arrangements.
What if the built-in battery is damaged?
Tell the receiving service about the damage and ask for handling instructions before arranging a return. Do not give the customer a generic instruction to post it back.