This is some evil shit. These big companies love to pretend they care about customers and the environment but they’ll make a couple of extra dollars by adding to the landfills if they get half a chance. An independent repair shop could have returned the phone to working order.
Gee, I admit I am pretty much uninformed about cell phone batteries. How dangerous are bulging ones?
I have a couple old bulging ones that have been laying around in an old Pyrex mixing bowl for a couple of years. I always forget to take them to Lowes & dump them when I go there.
Am I in serious danger having them around?
JenkinsMatti — get those bulging batteries out of your house and away from living space.As noted above, a terra cotta flowerpot with a lid is a good choice. Don’t leave it on a wooden table or shelf.
And remember the most important thing about li-ion or li-po cells: DON’T INHALE.
LMGTFY:
Well thank you for that information. I will do that right away.
I am not sure what “LMGTFY” means, but I appreciate that very informative link you provided.
Shoot it. Let it go out with a bang.
I think that is exactly what I will do.
It means Let Me Google That For You.
It also sometimes implies that you could have Googled the answer yourself. 
Hjeh, I can just picture someone with a bowl of bulging LiPo batteries heading over to Lowes and tossing ’em around in the parking lot for cars to drive over ’em. :laughing:
I guess I could have worded that a bit better. :person_facepalming:
But after reading the suggestion above to “shoot them”… that beats the parking lot “dump” any day. 
In my experience working with phones in the past, the real danger of bulging batteries comes from a possible puncture point inside the device and the internal layers having room to move and skip one over another. However I have regularly seen people use extremely bulged batteries for years without any incidence, and even some of them using a needle to puncture the belly to release the air and then sticking a piece of tape on top.
This is a joke right? Letting the air out of a battery?
Right.
Ascertain yourself with “expertise” in the field of phone batteries, bulging batteries that work – Ohh!
And to add an incredible statement “and even some of them using a needle to puncture the belly to release the air and then sticking a piece of tape on top”.
That wouldn’t be air, and the risk of having a cascading short – Ouch!
Lost credibility in my view.
I can absolutely believe that. I used mine for months after it bulged. I just loosened the back of the phone, to make room for the “bulge”; and taped it. No problems…
I wish I had thought of & tried the needle trick.
Oh well, live & learn.
I think I like the Lowes Landmine idea better.
I must admit, it does have a fiendish appeal. I do have two bulgers, I might shoot one & do the Lowes Landmine with the other.
That would be the best of both worlds.
This can be a form of legal fireworks.
Be like Bill Clinton and don’t inhale.
In some devices, especially those with hard-fastened cases, the pressure from a bulging pack can actually damage components. When they bulge, don’t be frightened, but it’s time for them to go to the big battery pasture in the sky….
The US Environmental Protection Agency has a webpage on disposing lithium ion and lithium polymer batteries.
If the battery is not damaged just cover the terminals with tape, put it in a plastic bag and take it to a recycling center.
If the battery is damaged you should contact the cell phone company and ask them how to deal with it.
What happens when you toss a fully or partially charged lithium ion battery in salt water? That discharges the battery and at the same time breaks water into hydrogen and oxygen. As long as you do this so the two gasses dissipate and do not collect in the container you will not have a problem. In this case, don’t cover the terminals and be sure to handle the battery with gloves. It only takes a very small amount of salt to make this work. It makes water conduct electricity better. When it stops producing gasses, the battery is fully discharged and can probably be put in a plastic bag and taken to a recycling center.
From “How to stop a lithium ion battery fire”
Small lithium-ion batteries can be doused with water because they contain little lithium metal. Lithium-metal battery fires can be put out with a Class D fire extinguisher. Larger battery fires are best handled with a foam extinguisher, CO2, ABC dry chemical, powder graphite, copper powder or sodium carbonate