As of July 1st, it is illegal for anyone in New Hampshire - resident, business, hauler, or transfer station (just to name a few) - to throw lithium-ion batteries into the waste stream to end up in a landfill or waste-to-energy incinerator. In accordance with RSA 149-M:27:
"No person shall dispose of any wet-cell batteries, lithium-ion batteries, or electronic devices in any solid waste landfill facility or incinerator in New Hampshire."
While transfer stations were already diverting and recycling wet-cell batteries (like car batteries) and electronics, diverting lithium-ion batteries is a newer request...but an important one. Recently, we wrote an article about the hidden dangers lurking in plain sight in many scrap metal piles - rechargeable lithium-ion batteries that when damaged can easily cause costly fires and explosions, or even preventable injuries and deaths.
So what do Transfer Stations need to do?
All transfer stations need to post informational signs at the facility giving notice of the disposal prohibition. The NH Department of Environmental Services worked with NH Recycles to update battery signage, that has now been added to the NH the Beautiful facility sign program and available to be purchased with "points."
Go to the NH the Beautiful Sign Order Form
If you are waiting on a larger sign, be sure to at least print out smaller signage to alert customers to the change. You can use the sign created by NHDES and print it out (resized to 30% its original size to fit on a standard piece of paper). We also have the image available in our Free Sign Library that you can download and print out!
Municipalities, solid waste districts, and owners or operators of solid waste landfill facilities and incinerators must provide educational materials on safe handling and recycling lithium-ion batteries. This can be done in many ways, either through printed materials or online through a website:
- You can print out the NHDES lithium-ion battery recycling brochure.
- You can link to NH Recycles Batteries Toolkit
- You can link to NHDES Lithium-Ion Batteries Page
Need A-Frame Signage?
If you don't have any NH the Beautiful points left for the year, or if you would prefer to purchase an a-frame insert you can do that, no matter where you live in New Hampshire. Here's how:
- Download the printable PDF from the NH Recycles Free Sign Library (look for "Download as PDF")
- Go to your local printshop website OR you can order through an online shop like Staples or Vistaprint. We tried them both while writing this article and they were the exact same price to print and mail one 4mm corrugated plastic 24"x36" sign. As of July 3, 2025 it cost $41.98, which included shipping.
- If you go through Staples, look for "Outdoor Signs," set the orientation to "portrait," set the size to "L - 24x36," set the sides to "single-sided," set the materials to "4mm corrugated plastic," set the finishing and accessories to "no grommets," and the quantity to as many signs as you would like (usually 1 or 2).
Next, go to "Add content" and "upload your own design." Now choose the sign file you downloaded from NH Recycles sign library. It will automatically upload for you to preview. If it looks ok (it should!) you can click the box to approve the product and add it to your cart. After that, you just need to check out!
- If you go through Vistaprint, look for "Yard Signs," set the shape to "rectangle," set the orientation to "vertical," set the size to "24x36," set the grommets to "no grommets," and set the quantity to however many you would like.
Next, choose "upload design" and then "upload from this device." Now choose the sign file you downloaded from NH Recycles sign library. It will automatically upload for you to preview. If it looks ok (it should!) click "next" and choose "Continue without back" (since this will be in an a-frame so you won't see the back). Now it's time to review the design and click the box to approve the product and click "continue." In the final steps, you could choose to include an additional glossy coat (though it is not necessary and was not included in the price-check exercise when we wrote this article). Vistaprint will also put you through a couple of pages of add-ons - you can just keep clicking "continue" to bypass these and get to your cart.
