BELOW SUPERNAV drop zone ⇩

Energy Department announces $14M battery recycling program

  • The program will fund over 1,000 consumer battery collection sites
  • Effort to recycle old batteries serves environmental and economic purposes
  • Rechargeable batteries contain minerals important for clean energy tech

(Getty Images)

MAIN AREA TOP drop zone ⇩

MAIN AREA TOP drop zone ⇩

maylen

https://digital-stage.newsnationnow.com/

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241114185800

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241115200405

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241118165728

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241118184948

(NewsNation) — Have a collection of old phones, computers and other electronics? A new initiative by the Biden administration makes it easier for people to recycle most battery-powered electronics.

The U.S. Department of Energy announced a $14 million program to fund more than 1,000 consumer battery collection sites at Staples and Batteries Plus stores across the country. This is part of a $62 million effort announced by the Biden administration in April to boost battery recycling.

The initiative addresses an electronics waste problem created by the billions of phones being discarded each year.

Smartphones contain lithium-ion batteries that can leak toxic chemicals into the environment or spark dangerous fires if damaged, punctured, or exposed to excessive heat, making them unsafe to discard in household garbage or recycling.

Battery improper disposal isn’t just an environmental problem; the DOE sees it as an economic problem as well. Many rechargeable batteries contain lithium, nickel, cobalt, graphite and manganese — critical materials needed to make clean energy technologies, including wind turbines and electric vehicles. With EV sales growing in the U.S., more of these materials will be needed.

“With hundreds of drop-off points across the country, we’re making it easier to recycle batteries from old cellphones and laptops — in turn allowing us to reuse the critical minerals we would normally source from China for new clean energy manufacturing. At DOE, we’re excited to help create a circular, sustainable domestic supply chain,” U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm said.

Climate

Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed

Site Settings Survey

 

MAIN AREA MIDDLE drop zone ⇩

Trending on NewsNation

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241119133138

MAIN AREA BOTTOM drop zone ⇩

tt

KC Chiefs parade shooting: 1 dead, 21 shot including 9 kids | Morning in America

Witness of Chiefs parade shooting describes suspect | Banfield

Kansas City Chiefs parade shooting: Mom of 2 dead, over 20 shot | Banfield

WWE star Ashley Massaro 'threatened' by board to keep quiet about alleged rape: Friend | Banfield

Friend of WWE star: Ashley Massaro 'spent hours' sobbing after alleged rape | Banfield

Clear

la

55°F Clear Feels like 55°
Wind
2 mph E
Humidity
62%
Sunrise
Sunset

Tonight

Clear to partly cloudy. Low 46F. Winds light and variable.
46°F Clear to partly cloudy. Low 46F. Winds light and variable.
Wind
2 mph NNE
Precip
2%
Sunset
Moon Phase
Waning Gibbous