On Thursday, February 27, at the ReMA Winter Board Meeting, ReMA’s Board of Directors approved a position on end-of-life battery management for non-embedded small and medium format batteries.
Batteries are commonplace in everyday life, and utilized in phones, laptops, watches, headphones, appliances around the house, e-bikes, scooters, and other personal electronics.
The improper disposal of batteries, especially lithium-ion batteries, creates serious fire, safety, and insurance risks, not only for the public but also for the recycled materials industry. Batteries in the wrong streams may be extremely difficult to detect, posing special challenges for fire suppression and containment.
To prevent these hazards, batteries must be properly handled by specialized recyclers. If not handled correctly, they become a threat to public safety, employees, and recycling infrastructure instead of a valuable resource and a source for the recovery of critical minerals and other recyclable materials.
The industry acknowledges the importance of efforts to address facilitation of the safe, economically sustainable, and environmentally responsible recycling of difficult-to-recycle items – such as non-embedded small and medium format batteries.
ReMA supports policy measures that facilitate and increase collection, safety, and proper end-of-life management of non-embedded small and medium batteries including reuse and recycling. Such efforts should contain and align with the following principles:
- Consumer Education and Outreach must be prioritized to ensure public safety, responsible recycling, and ongoing community engagement.
- Funding paid for by the producers of the battery or battery-containing product, covering collection, transportation, processing, and public education, as well as an infrastructure assessment to guide safety and detection investments.
- Battery Stewardship Organizations (BSOs) should operate in coordination and with state oversight to arrange for the collection and recycling of battery formats they represent.
- Independent Collection and Management of Batteries by Recyclers should not be restricted if collection is recorded and reported, and batteries are responsibly managed according to the law.
- Covered Battery Formats have different requirements for safe and responsible collection, packaging, transport, and processing that should be accounted for, and collectors should not be required to handle formats they are not properly trained and equipped to handle.
- State Oversight in coordination with a stakeholder Advisory Committee should ensure against flow control and market access imbalances and ensure confidential and secure data reporting to the state or a third party, non-vested entity.
- Design for Recycling must be encouraged for battery manufacturers and producers so that batteries can be safely used by consumers and reused, repurposed, or recycled at end of life.
- Civil Actions and Penalties for Improper Disposal should be included for grossly negligent or knowing actions by commercial entities, and BSOs should provide collection from recyclers receiving batteries they cannot accept.
“This position is a part of ReMA’s ongoing efforts to address the challenges of battery-containing products within the recycled materials industry,” said ReMA President Robin Wiener. “Battery stewardship programs must prioritize the responsible end-of-life management for all collected materials, while advancing safety and environmental priorities and without disrupting the current recycling infrastructure for materials or products that are being successfully recycled and consumed in existing markets.”
