The easiest and most stupid thing that many people do with their old and unwanted laptop battery is to simply put them straight in the bin where they will be sent to rot away at landfill. Once at landfill the toxic chemicals and heavy metals that laptops are made up of will leach into the soil causing damage to the environment, kill natural inhabitants and work their way into water supplies. The heavy metals will take hundreds of years to fully bio-degrade which will further fill up Britain's landfill sites.
Rather than putting your old laptop in the bin the most responsible option would be to recycle or reuse it. By recycling or reusing not only will you be doing your bit to help the environment but also you will be able to earn some extra cash from your high value piece of electronic equipment.
To reuse your unwanted laptop the best places would be either to sell it to friends or family or alternatively put it on one of the many online auction sites. Even if your unwanted laptop is broken it can still be sold on an auction site for parts to a computer fix shop or other PC repair man. You could even take it apart yourself and sell the screen, battery, keyboard or components off separately.
If you don't have time to take photos and wait for auctions to finish there are now many gadget recycling sites in the UK that will buy your used laptops off you. Its simply a case of a quick search online for laptop recycling sites, typing in the model of the laptop you want to sell and you will be offered a price. If you are happy to accept the price then proceed through the checkout and send in your old item via a free courier collection. Once revived your unwanted laptop will be tested and you will be sent your cash within a matter of days.
So if you have just bought a spanking new laptop don't even consider putting the old one in the bin as it will just cause further damage to the environment. Think about recycling or reusing it and not only will you get extra money in your pocket but the world will be a much better place.