How to prepare your end-of-life batteries for recycling

By the EcoBaterías technical teamPublished June 18, 2026Updated October 9, 2026Reviewed by the EPR compliance lead

An end-of-life lithium battery still holds energy and is handled as hazardous waste under Supreme Decree (DS) 148 unless a characterization shows otherwise. Before pickup, five things are on you: store it under cover and ventilated, tape the terminals, pack it in a rigid container, label every unit and set damaged cells aside. With that done, we coordinate pickup with licensed hazardous-waste carriers, and the process ends in a valorization certificate issued in your name by the authorized receiving facility.

What an end-of-life battery is in the eyes of the law

Until the specific battery decree takes effect, a discarded battery in Chile is managed under the hazardous waste regulation, Supreme Decree (DS) 148/2003: the generator remains responsible for the waste until its final destination, transport must be carried out by licensed transport, and delivery must end at a licensed final recipient. The same regulation limits storage to 6 months, extendable once for the same period with a technical report, and requires a management plan above 12 metric tons of hazardous waste per year.

Sources: DS 148/2003, arts. 25, 27 and 31, Library of the National Congress of Chile (opens in a new tab) · Law No. 20,920 (Ley REP) (opens in a new tab) · 2026-09-26

On top of that sits Chile’s Extended Producer Responsibility law (Ley REP, Law No. 20,920), which puts reuse ahead of recycling and makes producers finance the management of what they place on the market; the details are in the full guide to Chile’s EPR law for batteries. The Ministry of the Environment has until January 29, 2027 to propose the battery decree, after a public consultation that drew 451 comments. For solar modules the calendar is already fixed by Supreme Decree (DS) 22/2025 and its EPR targets for photovoltaic modules.

Sources: Chilean Ministry of the Environment, draft battery decree (Res. Ex. 821/2026) (opens in a new tab) · deadline extension (Res. Ex. 4,225/2026) (opens in a new tab) · 2026-09-26

The practical consequence is simple: preparing the batch is not internal housekeeping, it is the first link of a documented chain. If a unit arrives badly packed or unlabeled, transport stops and the batch goes back.

The checklist to run before a pickup

This is the list we walk through when booking a collection. It is written as a list so you can read it with a screen reader, print it, or tape it to the warehouse wall; every item is verifiable by eye, with no instruments.

Storage area

• Covered, dry and ventilated, with no direct sun or rain.
• More than two meters from combustibles: cardboard, solvents, oils, gases, insulation panels.
• Fire extinguisher within reach for a small fire nearby, and the exit route kept clear. An ABC extinguisher does not stop thermal runaway.
• No loose batteries on the floor: everything inside a container.
• Chemistries kept apart: lithium-ion, lead-acid and alkaline cells in separate containers.

Condition of each battery

• Terminals and connectors taped, one by one.
• No deformation, leak or sweet smell; anything showing those signs goes aside.
• Packs complete and assembled: modules are never opened on site.
• No loose metal inside the container (screws, tools, swarf).

Packaging and labeling

• Rigid container, plastic, or metal with a non-conductive inner liner, with a spill-proof base and a lid.
• Inert padding between units so nothing rubs or shifts in transit.
• Every unit labeled with battery type, origin and approximate weight, plus the class 9 label and the mark “LITHIUM BATTERIES FOR RECYCLING”.
• Damaged cells in a separate unit, marked “DAMAGED/DEFECTIVE LITHIUM ION BATTERIES” and declared when booking.

Paperwork and coordination

• Batch inventory: quantity, type, estimated weight and date taken out of service.
• On-site contact with name, phone number and truck access hours.
• Pickup confirmed in writing before anything is moved.

Storage is where most of the safety is decided

Almost every warehouse incident involving lithium batteries starts with an external short circuit, not a cell defect. Two terminals touching, a loose screw bridging two poles, a box that falls and crushes a pack: in all three cases the cause is storage, not chemistry.

So, beyond the 6-month legal limit, the practical criterion is volume: the fewer batteries sitting in storage and the shorter they stay, the lower the probability of an incident. If the flow is steady, set a pickup calendar instead of waiting for the warehouse to fill. If the volume is small and occasional, check the options in our guide on where to recycle lithium batteries in Chile.

A battery that heats up, smokes or gives off a sweet smell may be going into thermal runaway, the chain reaction in which a cell keeps heating itself until it catches fire. Do not handle it: clear a 15-meter (50-foot) radius, call the fire department (132 in Chile) and let us know afterwards. What controls a lithium battery fire is cooling it with large amounts of water, and that is the fire department’s job; an ABC extinguisher does not stop thermal runaway. A damaged battery can reignite hours or days later: the US NTSB documented one case five days after the crash.

Source: NTSB, Safety Report SR-20/01 (2020) (opens in a new tab) · 2026-09-26

Packaging, labeling and UN numbers

Lithium-ion batteries travel as class 9 dangerous goods and carry a UN number depending on how they ship: UN 3480 for loose batteries, UN 3481 for batteries contained in or packed with equipment, and UN 3536 for a battery energy storage (BESS) container with its batteries installed. Since 2022, Chile’s dangerous-goods transport regulation (DS 298) classifies and labels according to those UN recommendations.

There are two routes to recycling. Intact batteries travel under special provision 377 with packing instruction P909, with no UN 38.3 test summary required; small ones, up to 100 Wh, can go in a strong box of up to 30 kg. Damaged batteries, or batteries that cannot be diagnosed, travel under special provision 376 with instruction P908: each in its own inner packaging, with non-combustible, non-conductive thermal insulation, and only one per outer packaging if it weighs more than 30 kg. If they could react dangerously in transit, instruction P911 applies.

Sources: RID 2025 (OTIF), harmonized with the UN Model Regulations: special provisions 376 and 377, packing instructions P908, P909 and P911 (opens in a new tab) · DS 298/1994, arts. 2, 4, 7 and 30 (Library of the National Congress of Chile) (opens in a new tab) · 2026-09-26

You do not need to master that classification to ship a batch: when we quote, we tell you the UN number, the special provision and the packaging for each case, and your company enters them on the shipping document, because declaring the load is the shipper’s responsibility. What you do need is for the unit to arrive in a condition that can be classified — closed, labeled, and with damaged cells separated and declared.

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Transport and paperwork

In Chile, only companies holding a health authorization from the Seremi de Salud (Chile’s regional health authority) of their main address may transport hazardous waste, and that authorization is valid nationwide (DS 148, art. 36). Every shipment is declared in SIDREP, Chile’s national hazardous-waste declaration and tracking system: your company opens the record at dispatch, the carrier signs it on accepting the load and the receiving facility closes it on arrival, confirming receipt to the generator within 24 hours (art. 83). These documents travel with the load:

• Shipping document or invoice stating the class and UN number of each product, for example “UN 3480, class 9” (DS 298, art. 30).
• Safety data sheet in the cab and the hazardous-waste transport safety sheet (DS 298, art. 30; DS 148, art. 39).
• Declaration document or SIDREP record, which accompanies the waste to its destination (DS 148, art. 81).

Sources: DS 148/2003, arts. 36, 39, 81 and 83 (Library of the National Congress of Chile) (opens in a new tab) · DS 298/1994, art. 30 (Library of the National Congress of Chile) (opens in a new tab) · 2026-09-26

We coordinate pickup with licensed hazardous-waste carriers. The step-by-step process, with packaging for each case and the data you need for your SIDREP record, is on battery and solar panel collection and transport. To set date, time and loading point, request a pickup.

Before hiring any provider — us included — it is worth checking what to demand from an authorized lithium battery waste manager in Chile: the health permit covering the process, the role declared in the national tracking system, and the final destination of the material. Those three questions prevent the most expensive problem of all, which is finding out later that the batch ended up in landfill.

What happens after handover

What can return to service goes through lithium battery testing and, where it applies, repair or refurbishment; what still holds enough usable energy is assessed for second life, and what no longer qualifies goes to recycling. In that case we manage its valorization with authorized receiving facilities, in Chile or in OECD countries where applicable; the authorized receiving facility closes the SIDREP declaration and issues the valorization certificate. Before shredding, cells are discharged below 2.5 V to avoid short circuits during the process.

Source: Garg et al., “Enhanced electrochemical discharge of Li-ion batteries for safe recycling,” Sustainable Energy & Fuels, 2024 (opens in a new tab) · 2026-09-26

The documentary output is a valorization certificate per batch, issued by the authorized receiving facility, which is what supports your waste reporting. In the hydrometallurgical process that EcoMinería (Ecoprojects), a founding partner of EcoBaterías, ran at its Lampa plant, the material output was cobalt sulfate, nickel sulfate, copper and aluminum, which went back into industry instead of into a landfill. All services are listed under services for lithium batteries and solar panels.

Frequently asked questions

How long can I store end-of-life lithium batteries before handing them over?

Six months at most, extendable once for the same period with a technical report (DS 148, art. 31), plus a management plan if your company generates more than 12 metric tons of hazardous waste per year (art. 25). In practice, do not accumulate: the less time a batch sits in storage, the lower the risk of a short circuit or a thermal incident.

Do I have to discharge the batteries before handing them over?

No. What you do have to do is tape every terminal to prevent short circuits, and leave large packs assembled.

What do I do with a swollen, crushed or leaking battery?

Isolate it from the rest of the batch in its own box, on inert material such as sand or vermiculite, away from combustibles, and tell us when you book the pickup. A damaged battery travels separately and is declared as damaged, under special provision 376 with packing instruction P908: it is never mixed with sound units. If it heats up or smokes, clear the area and call the fire department (132 in Chile).

Do I need licensed transport to move the batteries?

Yes. In Chile, only companies holding a health authorization from the Seremi de Salud of their main address may transport hazardous waste (DS 148, art. 36), and every shipment is declared in SIDREP. We coordinate pickup with licensed hazardous-waste carriers.

What document do I get when I hand over the batch?

When the process closes, the valorization certificate issued by the authorized receiving facility, with the tonnage and destination of each fraction. That certificate is what supports your hazardous-waste reporting and your reporting under Chile’s Extended Producer Responsibility law (Ley REP, Law No. 20,920).

Updated October 9, 2026 · Reviewed by the EcoBaterías EPR compliance lead