Call the fire brigade.
They have specialist hazchem units who will let you know if itās actually dangerous,
and how to safely dispose of it.
How the hell can a cell start to bubble? Are we sure its venting or just getting really hot?
I'd let it sit outside for a few days (dont throw it onto the lawn and run over it with a lawnmower though) and then try the saltwater method. If you have something like this, you should be really safe:
Pressure differences pushing electrolyte out of a tiny leak in the seal/can.
Could be expensive if emergency services later sends you a $1,000 bill for their visit. However, I suppose just calling them to ask for info should be free.
Will try and resist doing thatā¦.
Thanks for the suggestions, both dodgy cells are currently now sitting under a 20kg solid conrete plant pot, will dump them into salt water in a few days time.
Good idea I might call the fire brigade and ask them where to dispose of them.
Off to the snickers wrapper they go then 
You could send it to the guy who posted on here yesterday about how to disassemble a li ion cell, he already cut the top off one, he is a graduate student or something.
+1 Very well Said.
Send it to me :P
I think if you tested it at zero voltage it's a door stop why does anyone freak out about a dead cell .unless he went back and edited his post .
It says he tested it at zero volts ..That doesn't scare me ..Should it ? check voltage and if it's dead or very dang dead ..Wrap them separately in little plastic tape them up and recycle them . killer gases comes from the batteries on fire not sitting there doa with no voltage . i ain't scared
If i saw a battery bubbling ... it might get my attention
if I'm wrong ....i'd like to know
Tell me Cat eyes, you use āLSDā Cells to keep you going, donāt you. Just curious, do you insert them Nasally, Intravenously or Rectally. 
just because theres no voltage doesnāt mean everything inside is in its lowest energy state, it just means the chemical reaction isnāt producing electricity, i donāt know much about lithium battery construction, but if there are chemicals that are reactive then you could have a problem, say acids, hydrogen, pure oxygen, materials incompatible with water, air, calcium, magnesium etc.
Hydrofluoric acid is a good example, iām not getting into the debate of if its in batteries or not, but its an example of something that may not produce electricity, but is still harmful no matter if its sourced from batteries or aluminium etching solutions.
Plutonium is also a good example, Iām not getting into the debate of if itās in batteries or not, but itās an example of something that may not produce electricity, but is still harmful ā¦.
CPF meh, theyāre drama queens any wayā¦
Awww, now whereās the fun in doing it safelyā¦ just boldly go! J)
Itās prolly a bit hard to do that as every pack is slightly different, plus I wouldnāt really call my method āsafeā as essentially Iām using a large blunt flathead screwdriver to pry the cases open using excessive force combined with a light careful touch if that makes senseā¦
DONāT use a knife to try and run around the seam!!! I have seen several packs where people have tried this and they have actually ended up almost cutting through the actual cells (can show you pics of this if you like as I had some in this batch)
One thing I would suggest though is starting in the area the battery connector is, itās the weakest point to get it started, plus thereās less risk youāll accidently go through the casing initially and stab a cell :~ Once you have a leverage opening then slowly (and carefully) work your way around the pack until you can pull the two halves apart. I work around cracking the case open by twisting the screwdriver head, bit by bit.
Once you have it open the cells are normally stuck to the bottom half with double sided tape, I use a plastic ipod opening tool that has no sharp edges to gently work under the cells to lift them, once unstuck the cells and circuit board lift right out.
Then cut away the circuit board (one wire/connection at a time) while being careful not to short the pliers against anything else on the board/battery contacts.
I would suggest you wear eye protection and do this outside given my recent experience lolā¦ā¦
If itās an HP pack, some of these seem to be plastic welded, with a strip that runs around the side the connector is on, these are really hard to open.
How do you dispose of damaged cells?
My local council has a battery recycle bin at their offices, put there by batteryworld.
battery recycle bin ?? Whee !!!
Then that's where i'd be pulling laptop packs from and donating all the old really junk cells ..if they start to give you any flack about it just ask them what the definition of recycling really means ..is it just finding a different landfill for something or is reusing a battery that still has value the smarter thing to be doing .......gets them everytime because you're right .
Better yet get the guy who works there to save you 4 or 5 packs a week . after about 15 packs you're pretty set for life and will be tossing batteries most people here would be saving . It's nice to have a little cache of lithium ion charged and ready to go .
When people are discussing not fully charging up cells to lengthen their life time you'll smile and shake your head thinking.." having 50 fully charged 18650's that you paid nothing for isn't such a bad idea ...
"I see a bright future in store for you"
Lithium Ion cells are not classed as hazardous waste - they are permitted in landfill, but can (and should) be recycled.
It has been rewarding to checkā¦
Kick it into the grass and forget about it.
Until the first mowing.