Did You Know There is an Easy Way to Recycle the Batteries Used in Your Zebra Devices?

Partner Blog

By: Sandeep Malhotra / Zebra

IN FACT, CUSTOMERS IN NORTH AMERICA CAN DROP OLD ZEBRA BATTERIES IN ANY CALL2RECYCLE BIN FOR FREE.

We ship over 2.5 million mobile computer, printer and scanner batteries each year to customers in North America as part of our standard order fulfillment process as well as our battery warranty and battery service plans such as proactive battery replacement. Do you know how many are shipped back in for recycling when they reach end of life?

We do – and it’s not nearly as many as it should be, especially considering we offer battery recycling as a free service to North America customers. (Zebra tracks internal recycling rates as part of our commitment to being a responsible corporate citizen.)

That’s why I want to make sure you know where to drop – versus dump – your batteries when the time comes to replace them or retire your Zebra devices.

CALL2RECYCLE IS ON STANDBY

If you are a smaller business in North America and you don’t have a formal device or battery collection and recycling process set up, no problem. Just take your old device batteries to any Call2Recycle bin in your city or town, and we’ll pick up the charge of having it recycled. (Zebra is a Call2Recycle Steward, which you can learn more about here.)

If you are already set up with a battery recycling box from Call2Recycle at your location, then you can continue to send in your older batteries when the box is full in an environmentally-friendly manner per the instructions from Call2Recycle. Or you can schedule a hassle-free pickup by visiting our website. If you don’t have an on-site bin yet, it can be as simple as an old box that would otherwise be recycled.

If you subscribe to Zebra’s OneCare™ Maintenance Service (anywhere in the world), or you have to replace a battery that’s under warranty, then we will recycle the batteries for you. If you sent us the device for troubleshooting and one of our repair center team members confirms the battery must be replaced, then we’ll drop the old battery in our repair center recycling bins and return the device to you with a new battery. The same process applies if you just send us the battery for servicing. Once our bins are full, we will send them into Call2Recycle in the U.S. We will also make sure they are properly disposed of in regions outside North America.

Likewise, if you are in North America, and signed up for Zebra’s Proactive Battery Replacement Service, then all you have to do is drop off or send in your old batteries per the terms of the “swap” service. We will automatically recycle them as part of our Steward collaboration with Call2Recycle. In fact, this may be the easiest way to replace and recycle your batteries, mainly because you get a new battery delivered before the old one begins to fail and cannot hold power for a full work shift. Once the old battery has been swapped out, you can use the recycling program to send in the old battery. Without a service plan, it can take several steps to order or purchase a replacement battery which can lead to additional downtime and lost productivity. I encourage you to learn more about the offering here.

IT’S EASY TO DO YOUR PART

No matter where you live or why you need to dispose of your old Zebra batteries, we’ve tried by make it as easy as possible for you to drop them into a recycling bin or a box for pickup by one of our recycling partners so you don’t have to throw them into a trash can and load up landfills.

If you’re in North America, you can go straight to a Call2Recycle bin and drop off the batteries yourself, or you can ship them back to Zebra and we’ll route them to Call2Recycle. If you’re outside the U.S., our repair center teams will make sure batteries are recycled when you return them for replacement. If you’re interested in other recycling options closer to your business, contact your local Zebra representative to see what’s available or visit our Product Recycling page here to submit a recycling request.

Why Battery Recycling Matters More Than Ever for Enterprise Operations

Nobody thinks about batteries until something goes wrong.

A scanner dies mid-shift. A tablet won’t hold a charge past noon. A driver’s device shuts down before proof of delivery gets captured. Then suddenly everyone’s thinking about batteries, but by then the damage is already done.

Here’s what actually happens in most enterprise environments: companies spend serious money on mobile devices, deploy them across warehouses and fleets and field teams, and track every metric imaginable about device performance. Battery disposal? That gets handled however the last person to touch it decided to handle it. Which usually means a drawer, a bin, or eventually the general trash.

That’s a problem, and not just an environmental one, though it is that too. Lithium-ion batteries aren’t something you can just throw away cleanly. The materials inside them need proper handling. At the scale a large operation runs through batteries, across scanners, handhelds, tablets, printers, and mobile computers, the exposure adds up. Safety risks, compliance gaps, and sustainability reporting that doesn’t hold up under scrutiny.

Zebra and its recycling partners have built something that actually fits how operations run. That’s the part worth paying attention to.

The Part Where Sustainability Usually Falls Apart

Most sustainability initiatives ask operations teams to do more work. New processes, separate logistics, additional steps that don’t connect to anything already happening. And operations teams, reasonably, push back, because they’re already stretched.

Zebra’s recycling setup doesn’t work that way. Batteries go into Call2Recycle bins. They get returned through service programs. They get collected when replacement workflows are already running. Nothing requires building a new process from scratch.

The result is that recycling stops being a separate initiative and starts being part of how device lifecycle management already works. That’s the only way this stuff actually sticks.

What Nobody Budgets For

Aging batteries don’t announce themselves. They just quietly start performing worse, shorter run times, inconsistent charging, and shutdowns that happen at exactly the wrong moment. Workers start compensating. Supervisors notice slowdowns but can’t trace them. IT gets blamed.

By the time a battery failure shows up clearly enough to act on, it’s already cost something.

Proactive replacement is the straightforward answer. Find the batteries approaching the end of their life before they fail. Swap them. Recycle the old ones through the right channels at the same time. Two problems handled in one step, without emergency scrambling, without mid-shift disruptions.

For high-volume operations running hundreds of devices across multiple facilities, that difference between reactive and proactive battery management shows up in real numbers.

The ESG Angle Is Real Now

A few years ago, sustainability reporting felt optional for most operations. Something the marketing team cared about more than the warehouse team.

That’s changed. Customers ask about it. Partners evaluate it. Employees factor it into where they want to work. And auditors increasingly want specifics, not commitments, actual practices.

Battery recycling is one of the more concrete, measurable things an operation can point to. Materials are recovered instead of being landfilled. Electronic waste has been reduced. A supply chain that doesn’t just consume and discard. For healthcare, manufacturing, retail, and logistics industries, where scrutiny around operational practices has gotten serious, this isn’t a peripheral concern anymore.

Lifecycle Management Without the Gaps

Most enterprise device programs handle procurement and deployment well. The end-of-life part gets inconsistent fast.

Left to individual employees, battery disposal goes in different directions. Some recycle. Most don’t. Replacement schedules drift. Nobody has a clear view of what’s aging out across the fleet until devices start failing.

Structured programs fix that. Clear workflows, defined collection points, replacement cycles that follow an actual schedule rather than whoever notices a problem first. The operational benefits aren’t complicated: more reliable devices, better safety, cleaner records, and the ability to actually forecast battery spend rather than treating it as a surprise line item.

What a Good Technology Partner Does Here

Zebra’s partnership with Call2Recycle is worth understanding for what it actually represents. It’s not a bolt-on feature. Recycling is woven into warranty programs, repair services, and replacement plans, so responsible disposal is the default path, not the extra step that requires someone to care enough to take it.

For businesses already running Zebra’s mobility infrastructure, that integration removes a real friction point. The right thing to do with an old battery becomes the easy thing to do. That’s how behavior actually changes at scale.

Getting People to Actually Do It

Policy documents don’t change behavior. Convenient options do.

Labeled collection bins are placed where people actually work. Simple guidance on what goes where. Battery disposal is built into device return and replacement workflows, so it happens automatically rather than as a separate decision. Centralized drop-off points that don’t require extra effort.

When recycling is the obvious default rather than the extra step, participation stops being something you have to campaign for.

The Actual Bottom Line

Battery management done well pays off in several directions at once: fewer device failures, lower downtime, cleaner compliance, stronger sustainability numbers, and an operation that isn’t quietly leaking productivity every time an aging battery gives out at the wrong moment.

None of that requires building something complicated. The programs are already there. The recycling infrastructure is already in place. The main thing is deciding to use it before a problem forces the issue.

Also read – The Zebra TC8000: Powerful Hot Swap Batteries

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