In the United States a battery that is spent or used or that is unused but intended for disposal is a solid waste.  If the battery exhibits a hazardous waste characteristic then the battery must be managed as a universal waste (so long as it is not a lead-acid battery managed under 40 CFR part 266 subpart G).  Most lithium batteries exhibit both the reactivity and ignitability hazardous waste characteristics.  A generator that ships a waste battery to another location without first making a waste determination risks violating generator, transporter and even facility standards should that battery be determined to be spent at the destination location.

International law is similar in its treatment of waste batteries.  Used or unused lithium batteries intended for disposal are treated as hazardous waste under both OECD transboundary regulations and the Basel Convention.  While there are a few exceptions to this, virtually all Basel Convention signatories and all OECD signatories regard used (or unused destined for disposal) as hazardous waste because those batteries are ignitable or reactive under international dangerous goods, international maritime dangerous goods, or member state national regulations.