Old car and marine batteries have a habit of piling up. They sit on shed shelves, behind workshops or end up tossed in the rubbish where they shouldn’t. Lead acid batteries are one of the most recycled items in Australia, and they’re worth real money when you bring them in. This post is for mechanics, marine workshops, farmers, fleet operators and anyone with a stack of dead batteries to clear.
Why Old Lead Acid Batteries Are Worth Real Cash at the Scrap Yard
A lead acid battery is mostly lead, plus a plastic casing and acid electrolyte. The lead inside is heavy and dense, which adds up quickly on the scales. Recycling keeps that lead in circulation rather than sending it to landfill, where the casing and acid can do real damage. For more on lead as a scrap metal, see our lead recycling page, which lists complete automotive and marine batteries as one of the grades we buy.
The Types of Old Batteries We Buy in Queensland
We take complete automotive and marine lead acid batteries. That includes:
- Car, ute and 4WD batteries
- Light truck and heavy truck batteries
- Boat and marine batteries
- Motorcycle batteries
- Mobility scooter batteries
- Backup and UPS batteries
Bring them in whole. Don’t try to crack the case open or drain the acid yourself. Damaged or leaking batteries are dangerous and won’t be accepted at the gate.
How to Safely Transport Old Car and Marine Batteries to the Yard
A few simple rules keep things tidy on the trip in:
- Stand batteries upright in a tray, crate or sturdy box so they don’t tip
- Keep them out of direct sun on long drives
- Wear gloves when lifting, and wash your hands after
- Tape the terminals on small batteries to stop accidental shorts
Where to Drop Off Old Batteries Across Queensland
A handful of batteries is happy to come into any of our yards. We have ten across Queensland: Oxley (head office), Coopers Plains, Kingston, Toowoomba, Burleigh Heads, Banyo, Gladstone, Townsville, Warwick and the Sunshine Coast. Yards are open Monday to Friday 7:00am to 4:30pm and Saturday 7:00am to 11:30am.
For workshops or fleet yards with crates of batteries, our Weigh and Pay service comes to you. We weigh the load on the spot and pay cash. It saves the hassle of multiple ute trips and frees up the back corner of the workshop in one go.
Add Old Batteries to Your Regular Scrap Metal Drop
If you’ve already got a regular cash for scrap drop you do, batteries fit right alongside other common scrap items. They sit nicely with the kind of clean-outs covered in our piece on 4 common items to recycle for extra cash.
Get Cash for Your Old Batteries Today
Stop tripping over old batteries in the shed. Stack them safely in a crate, drop into your nearest yard, or get in touch through our contact page to book a Weigh and Pay run. The team will sort you out from there.
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