Money hacks Safe and easy ways to recycle electrical products

Batteries can start fires if they are not disposed of properly, so it is important not to throw them away in your regular bin.

- Mabel Banfield-Nwachi

Take care with batteries Instead, look for recycling bins for used or old household batteries near the entrance or customer service desk of a supermarket; most of the big ones have them including Tesco, Waitrose, Sainsbury's, Asda, Morrisons, Lidl and Aldi. You will even find them in some libraries.

Most standard types of batteries can be recycled. Rechargeable ones are usually accepted too, as long as they are not swollen or leaking. Disposable and rechargeable vapes can, and should, also go in these bins because of the hazardous lithium-ion batteries in them.

Before dropping used batteries off at a recycling point, store them safely at home. Keep them in a lidded container, such as an jam jar or takeaway tub, and try to keep them away from metal objects such as keys and coins. For lithium-ion batteries - the type often found in vapes, fitness trackers and digital thermometers - stick masking tape over the terminals (the metal ends) to reduce the risk of fire.

If you can, take the batteries out of other electronics such as laptops, mobile phones, electric toys, Bluetooth devices, shavers, electric toothbrushes and power bank chargers before you dispose of them. You can usually also recycle these in store. If the batteries are hard to remove, you may have to visit your local recycling bin or centre to dispose of the whole product.

Use recycling bins All those no-longer-usable chargers and tangled cables can go in with small electronics at Bring Bank recycling points. That includes old phone chargers, remote controls, electric razors, earphones, vapes and even broken fairy lights.

If the device has a plug, uses batteries, needs charging or has a circuit board, it counts. These are known as waste electrical and electronic equipment.