Lithium-ion batteries |

Lithium-ion batteries

Back to Community

With A123 (AONE) going public today and soaring 50% at one point, it got me to thinking about batteries and their environmental impact. How much of the materials in these Lithium-ion batteries are recyclable and what threat do they pose to the environment?

Discussion started by Brian Bailey , on 24 September 10:25 AM

Replies

Lee H Goldberg, 2009-09-28 14:16:44

Good question Brian - NiCd batteries are very recyclable. For the consumer, most Hope Depots and Lowes stores have collection boxes that people can use for free - if they remember tp get that old battery pack out of the basement. The web site Call 2 Recycle http://www.call2recycle.org/recycling-at-home.php has a recyler location feature that lets you find the closest drop-off point to your home. I found several (including a Best Buys) within 35 miles of my house. This does not solve the problem but it's a start.

It's my understanding that NiMH and LiIon batteries are equally easy to recycle and much less toxic if they do make it into a landfill but I need to research that more before i can give a definitive answer. There are also rumblings of an impending shortage of commercial-grade Lithium as the demand for batteries (especially in large vehicles) begins to soar. I'll make sure to look into that when I do my research on recycling LiIon batteries.

Jay Dowling, 2009-09-28 14:09:04

BestBuy will take just about any battery. TrueValue Hardware (if you can find one) will take CFLs

Clive Maxfield, 2009-09-28 13:11:10

I worry about all of the batteries folks use (not just Lithium-ion ones). The problem is knowing where to take them so they can be safely recycled. If there were some sort of collection point, I would be more than happy to collect them at home and in the office and drop them off. For example, if I knew that every Wal Mart had a "drop your batteries off here" capability, I would be more than happy to do so (I'd probably end up spending money at Wal Mart while I was there ... I think I'll send a note to Wal Mart about this).