In this study, negative electrodes from spent Ni-Cd batteries were recycled as CdCO3, which was thermally treated to produce synthetized, nanostructured CdO. There is interest in CdO because of its energy band gap, high electrical conductivity and selective catalytic properties. CdO was characterized in this study by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electronic microscopy (TEM). The XRD pattern showed CdO peaks in a crystalline cubic phase, and the average crystallite diameter was 22.21 nm. TEM micrographs showed the formation of clusters containing nanostructures. We also tested the efficiency of CdO catalytic activity in degrading Reactive Black 5 (RB5) dye. Degradation was conducted in conditions of pH = 4.0, pH = 5.97 and pH = 8.0. The degradation efficiency was, respectively, 65.42%, 61.80% and 67.01% after 480 min of reaction. The determining step in the reaction mechanism for dye degradation was the formation of the radical ion OH center dot. Therefore, the degradation exhibited a first-order reaction. The catalytic activity of CdO and the rate constant values were independent of the pH of the solution. This work presents potential solutions for two environmental problems: recycling Cd and dye degradation. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.