How do I dispose of an old home battery and inverter as an installer?

An installer takes an old home battery back, notes its serial number and state, and disposes of it via Bebat or the brand. Damaged, unknown or unregistered ones go to a specialised recycler such as YouPower Recycling, our Battery Disassembly Center. Our lithium battery recycling page shows how we take in, screen and dismantle them.

You replace a customer's home battery, and the old one joins two old inverters and the lead-acid batteries at your depot. "You take the old one with you, right?" For the customer that ends the story; for you it starts it.

Working with electricians is familiar ground: an electrician in Peer had us build the battery for his own home, full no-break, 15.4 kWh.

Where does an old home battery go for disposal: the installer, the supplier or Bebat?

The customer goes to you: the installer is the official collection point. For a home or storage battery with an environmental contribution, OVAM says: contact your installer for free collection. Bebat lists the supplier or installer as the only collection point for storage systems and batteries above 25 kg.

Schools, shops, recycling parks and companies do not accept them, according to Bebat. So the honest answer to your customer is: with you, or with the company that sold it.

Since 1 May 2025 the Bebat energy storage system (ESS) covers every battery module that can connect to mains voltage and supply the grid. That runs from plug-and-play and home batteries to commercial installations up to 16 MWh.

• Not in the ESS scheme: UPS batteries meant only for back-up, lead modules and EV batteries, according to Bebat.
• UPS and other industrial batteries go back through the producer or a registered collector. Our article on old lithium batteries from forklifts, UPS systems and storage explains that route for companies.
• Wallonia: Bebat manages producer responsibility for every category of battery, Febelauto for batteries from electric vehicles, according to SPW Environnement.

Bebat offers companies free collection units and pickups, with digital certificates in its MyBebat platform. Registering as a Bebat collection point is free.

Is the old home battery registered, and why does the serial number decide who pays?

A battery registered with Bebat is collected and recycled at no extra cost: the environmental contribution paid at sale covers it. Registration means the producer, importer or seller declared the battery modules and their serial numbers with Bebat.

In a Bebat survey of 2 September 2026, only 1 Belgian in 10 knew the registration duty. 38% of consumers assume the installer arranged it, which Bebat says is usually the case. The gap: 37.8% of plug-and-play owners in the survey bought from a foreign webshop.

Is the serial number of such a battery not in the database at its end? Then collection and recycling are not organised in advance and can become paid, Bebat warns. The customer does not see that bill coming; the installer who removes the battery does.

• Check before you take it: on the Bebat website anyone can enter the serial number or upload a label photo. The check shows if the battery is registered.
• Label what you install: installers who are Bebat members order free RecyKlaar labels. Their QR code shows your customer that the battery is registered.
• Buying abroad yourself? Then you may be the importer who must declare the modules. Ask Bebat before the first delivery, not at the first removal.

Where do the old inverter, the solar panels and the lead-acid batteries go?

Each part has its own scheme: old inverter disposal runs through Recupel, the panels through PV CYCLE Belgium. So one pallet for everything does not work.

Sources: OVAM (batteries), Bebat, Recupel (recycling as a professional), PV CYCLE Belgium. EV batteries follow the Febelauto network.

Recupel separates household from professional equipment by intended use; professional equipment is not accepted at the recycling park. So check how the inverter was sold before you drive to a Recupel point.

Replacing only the battery? Our article on adding a battery to an existing SMA or SolarEdge installation covers what stays and what changes.

How do you store old batteries at your depot until they are collected?

Treat your depot like a small battery store: apart, upright, dry and marked. The OVAM precautions for storing lithium batteries apply to the modules you bring back too.

• Upright, as installed: in its normal installation position, never upside down, protected from heat, water and impact.
• Ventilated and marked: a well-ventilated area with a warning sign, on an impermeable floor or in a suitable container.
• Nothing conductive or flammable nearby: no cable reels, packaging or fuel. Tape loose terminals against short circuits, as Bebat advises.
• Lithium and lead-acid apart: they follow different routes, so never in one box or on one pallet.
• Agree the measures: OVAM asks operators to set their precautions with the fire service or an independent expert.

A swollen module in a corner of the depot is your fire risk, not your customer's. Transport is dangerous goods work under the ADR (the European rules for dangerous goods by road). Damaged lithium batteries fall under special provision 376, with stricter packaging; undamaged ones for recycling can go under 377.

For batteries still installed at customers, see our article on fire safety, permits and insurance for a business battery.

What paperwork should you keep for every battery you remove?

Enough to prove where every battery came from and where it went. Bebat reminds companies that they must separate their waste and show it went to an authorised collector. Five things cover it.

In Flanders, waste transport needs a digital identification form, with exceptions that OVAM lists. One is a supplier who brings discarded goods back to its own premises under the take-back obligation. Check on the OVAM page which case fits your trip.

Bebat, the brand or a specialised recycler: which route fits which battery?

The simplest route is usually the right one; a specialist is for the batteries that do not fit it.

What happens when you call YouPower Recycling as an installer?

We start with what is in your depot, not with a price list, and with the question whether the battery is really finished. Our team of three certified battery specialists revises existing batteries and handles maintenance and repair of existing battery systems.

1. Step 1: You tell us what you have. Type, brand, number of modules, weight, state and whether the serial numbers are registered.
2. Step 2: Intake. At the Battery Disassembly Center we determine the type and features of each battery, assess its state and check how far the cells are damaged.
3. Step 3: Screening. A battery that passes can go to second life applications; if not, it is end of life after the measurements.
4. Step 4: Safe disassembly and shredding, which separates copper, aluminium, heavy carbon and black mass.

What a second-life battery can still do is in our article on second-life batteries for businesses. What a maintenance contract should cover is in our guide to service, warranty and maintenance of a business battery.