NOVELTY - The method involves writing information related to a type of small rechargeable battery (1) and the material used for the battery onto an IC tag (3) that is mounted on the battery. The required information is read from the IC tag of a spent battery. The battery is classified into an arbitrary group based on the read information. Preset resource recovery processing is performed on each of the classified groups.    USE - Used for classifying and collecting a battery into a nickel-cadmium rechargeable battery, nickel metal hydride rechargeable battery, small sealed lead-acid rechargeable battery, lithium rechargeable battery, nickel-cadmium rechargeable battery, cobalt-based lithium ion rechargeable battery, nickel-based lithium ion rechargeable battery, manganese-based lithium ion rechargeable battery, lithium ion polymer rechargeable battery, polyaniline lithium rechargeable battery, vanadium lithium rechargeable battery, graphite fluoride lithium battery, manganese dioxide lithium battery, thionyl chloride lithium battery and copper oxide lithium battery.    ADVANTAGE - The information related to the type of battery and the material used for the battery is written on the IC tag that is mounted on the battery, thus enabling the reading of the information without being contacted by a reader, and thereby preventing the information from becoming unreadable due to scratches or contamination when the information is recorded on the exterior surface of the battery. The method increases the amount of recorded information and fully distinguishes the type of battery and material used for the battery, thus enabling classification operations to be automated, besides efficiently and easily identifying and classifying a large number of batteries. The method prevents mistakes from being made in the classification due to overwriting.    DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING(S) - The drawing shows a perspective view of a structure of an IC tag to be mounted on a battery.    Small rechargeable battery (1)    IC tag (3)    Insulator (20)