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New rules say you’re now required to take them all to an authorized waste handler, but it’s unlikely anyone will be checking up on you, says Ron Baker with the Department of Toxic Substances Control:
“We don’t, nor do any of the counties have the resources to go door to door, looking in people’s trash cans to see if they’re throwing away batteries.” 
Mark Murray with Californians Against Waste says the rule’s a necessity since heavy metals can pollute ground-water, but there aren’t enough recycling opportunities.
“I think we’re going to end up with a lot of batteries in desk drawers and a lot of electronics sitting in boxes, until we come up with a recycling infrastructure for this stuff.”
According to the state, Californians use about 500 million batteries annually – and safely dispose of less than one percent of them.