diff --git a/sdk/trace/batch_span_processor.go b/sdk/trace/batch_span_processor.go
index 1d399a75db2f..bdb27b9c7bfa 100644
--- a/sdk/trace/batch_span_processor.go
+++ b/sdk/trace/batch_span_processor.go
@@ -280,6 +280,7 @@ func (bsp *batchSpanProcessor) exportSpans(ctx context.Context) error {
 		//
 		// It is up to the exporter to implement any type of retry logic if a batch is failing
 		// to be exported, since it is specific to the protocol and backend being sent to.
+		clear(bsp.batch) // Let GC collect objects
 		bsp.batch = bsp.batch[:0]
 
 		if err != nil {