How many batteries are recycled?

Data last updated on December 18, 2025

This page presents data about battery recycling in Ontario, including the weight of batteries supplied and recycled, refurbished or reused year-⁠over-⁠year.

Ontario’s recycling laws require businesses to report this data to RPRA, as the regulator responsible for enforcing these laws. The reporting of this information helps ensure batteries are properly collected and recycled, refurbished or reused—and that valuable resources, like cobalt, nickel and lithium, are kept out of landfill.

RPRA updates this page annually. The data reflects what was reported as of December 18, 2025, and is subject to change.

Batteries supplied from 2018 –⁠ 2024

Businesses that supply batteries in Ontario must report the weight they supply into the province each year. The batteries you buy at a store—like single-⁠use AA batteries for your remote controls or rechargeable batteries commonly used in laptops and cellphones—are a part of the total amount supplied into the province.

Batteries supplied

 

 

Types of batteries supplied

Notes:

  • 2018 is the first year of batteries supply data that was required to be reported.
  • On the “Batteries supplied” chart, 2024 only includes single-⁠use batteries. Rechargeable batteries are reported to RPRA two years after they are supplied so 2023 is the most recent year of data for rechargeable batteries.
  • The “Types of batteries supplied” chart only goes up to 2023 for the same reason noted above—2023 is the most recent year of data that captures both types of batteries.

Batteries recycled from 2021 –⁠ 2024

When you drop off used batteries at a recycling location, they’re collected and sent to facilities where they are sorted and processed or broken down into different materials. From there, valuable resources, such as cobalt, nickel and lithium, are recovered and used in new products, or the batteries are refurbished to be used again.

Businesses that supply batteries in Ontario are required to collect and recycle, refurbish or reuse them once consumers are finished with them and report the weight of batteries they recycle or refurbish each year.

Batteries recycled

(Includes refurbished and reused batteries)

 

 

Types of batteries recycled

(Includes refurbished and reused batteries)

Note: 2021 is the first year of batteries recycling data that was required to be reported and includes battery recycling data from July 2020 to December 2021.

 

For more data about battery recycling in Ontario, visit rpra.ca