Can you put car batteries and lead-acid batteries in a dumpster?
Direct answer
No. Managed as universal waste under the federal rules at 40 CFR Part 273, and banned from disposal in Massachusetts by name. No hauler will take one knowingly. In Massachusetts the correct answer is different, and the rule is enforced at the disposal facility rather than at your driveway.
- General status
- No
- Rule type
- Federal
- Category
- Hazardous and regulated
- States verified
- MA
Where the answer is different
- Massachusetts — Lead-acid batteries are a banned material. (310 CMR 19.017)
States not listed here are unverified, not permitted. We publish a state verdict only after reading the rule at the state agency, because a wrong answer here gets a load rejected at the transfer station and the cost lands on whoever rented the container.
Where it goes instead
Any auto parts retailer takes them, and most refund a core deposit.
Sources
- Primary source Universal Waste — 40 CFR Part 273 — US Environmental Protection Agency · last reviewed 2026-08-17
- Primary source MassDEP Waste Disposal Bans — Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection · last reviewed 2026-08-17
mass.gov refuses automated requests from this build environment (HTTP 403). The ban list was read from the publisher’s own guide through a search index and cross-checked against the October 2021 amendment document below.