What Information Do You Need for a Battery Recycling Quote?

“We have some lithium batteries. What will you pay?” is not enough for a recycler to price collection or confirm acceptance.

A useful quote starts with a useful battery description. The recycler needs to know what will arrive, what condition it is in, how much there is, where it sits and what work the collection requires.

The minimum quote pack

1. Who holds the batteries and where are they?

• legal business and contact responsible for the enquiry;
• collection address and country;
• indoor or outdoor storage location;
• vehicle access, loading equipment and site restrictions;
• required collection window;
• whether the holder owns the batteries and can transfer them;
• relevant waste-producer or site information where applicable.

The postcode alone does not explain whether a lorry can reach the load or whether the site can lift it.

2. What are the batteries?

• manufacturer, model and part number;
• pack, module, cell, portable battery or industrial unit;
• original vehicle, equipment or storage application;
• chemistry, if known;
• nominal energy, voltage and mass;
• serial or label photographs;
• quantity and whether the units match;
• waste code or classification where already determined.

Do not guess the chemistry from enclosure colour or vehicle brand. Say unknown and provide label photographs when the evidence is incomplete.

3. What condition are they in?

• intact, damaged, defective, recalled, leaking or unknown;
• accident, impact, water, fire, smoke or heat history;
• swelling, deformation, corrosion or enclosure damage;
• state of charge or residual charge, if known through an appropriate method;
• known isolation, fault or thermal concerns;
• whether the unit has been opened, repaired or dismantled;
• current monitoring, segregation or quarantine arrangements;
• dated photographs of every relevant side and the storage setting.

“Untested” means evidence is missing. It does not mean intact or safe. Describe visible condition and history separately.

4. How much is there and how is it prepared?

• number of units;
• estimated or measured total weight;
• pallets, containers or other packaging already in use;
• whether packaging has been assessed for the intended movement;
• lifting points, pallet dimensions and loading method;
• mixed chemistries or non-battery material in the load;
• whether collection is one-off or recurring.

Quantity affects vehicle choice, minimum charges, site capacity and whether the quote uses a per-item, per-load or per-weight basis.

5. What service and evidence do you need?

• collection only, treatment only or a managed service;
• packaging supply or repacking;
• testing, discharge or preparation by a competent party;
• required weight, receipt, acceptance and final treatment records;
• purchase order or invoicing requirements;
• target date and internal approval process;
• whether reuse or resale should be assessed before recycling.

Tell the recycler what a complete outcome looks like. A low gate fee may not solve collection, evidence or internal reporting.

Report the facts; leave classification to the responsible party

The holder remains responsible for an accurate waste description and duty-of-care information. When the holder is also the consignor, it must identify the transport hazards and provide the required dangerous-goods description. Competent waste and dangerous-goods advisers can help determine the applicable code, classification and packaging route. The carrier and receiving recycler must then confirm that the movement and site acceptance fit their own responsibilities.

Do not choose a code from a generic article or describe a battery as safe for ordinary transport because it looks intact in a photograph. Unknown is better than a confident guess.

Quote-ready checklist

Send missing fields as an explicit list. That lets the recycler decide whether it can quote with a condition, request one more item or decline early.

Weak enquiry versus quote-ready enquiry

Specific information shortens the clarification loop. It also makes later quote comparison fairer.

Worked example: a complete first request

This fictional example shows structure, not a legal classification or market quote.

We hold six intact EV packs of the same manufacturer and part number at our Birmingham dismantling site. The packs were removed following vehicle end-of-life processing, not collision damage. No fire, water or heat event is known. Label, enclosure and storage photographs are attached. Total estimated weight is 2.7 tonnes, subject to verified collection weight. The packs sit individually on supports indoors; no transport packaging has been approved. A forklift and level vehicle access are available between 08:00 and 15:00. Please quote collection, any required packaging, treatment, adjustments, payment terms, and the receipt and final evidence you will return. Confirm whether your site can accept this pack and condition before pricing.

The recycler can now identify the site, check acceptance scope, plan the missing packaging and state the quote basis. It may still ask for classification, residual-charge information, further photographs or site-specific documents.

Why the final price can still change

Permitted facilities are expected to compare arriving waste with written pre-acceptance information and manage discrepancies or non-conforming loads. A quote may therefore remain subject to:

• verified weight and count;
• chemistry or identity confirmation;
• physical inspection;
• packaging and loading assessment;
• condition remaining stable before collection;
• contamination or mixed material;
• the receiving site's current acceptance and capacity.

Ask the recycler to state each adjustment and rejection condition. “Subject to inspection” is too broad on its own.

Before you accept the quote

Check:

1. the legal entity and receiving site;
2. current permit or approval scope for the proposed activity;
3. written acceptance of the chemistry, form and condition;
4. the carrier, broker or dealer registration where applicable;
5. packaging and dangerous-goods responsibilities;
6. downstream destination and returned evidence;
7. the complete cost and payment basis.

Use the battery recycling quote comparison guide to put competing offers on the same basis.

Bottom line

Give the recycler enough information to say yes, no or “yes, subject to these named checks”. A complete quote request protects both sides from a price built around the wrong battery, condition or collection assumption.

Review note: Recheck the intake, waste and carriage guidance at least every six months. Review this checklist whenever ReBattery changes the fields it can collect and transmit.

Sources

• Environment Agency, Waste-battery pre-acceptance, acceptance and tracking appropriate measures, May 2026.
• Environment Agency, Waste-battery storage and handling appropriate measures, May 2026.
• Environment Agency, Waste batteries: treat, recycle and export.
• GOV.UK, Waste duty of care: code of practice.
• GOV.UK, Register or renew as a waste carrier, broker or dealer.
• Health and Safety Executive, Carriage of dangerous goods.
• Health and Safety Executive, Classification of dangerous goods.