NZ - do we recycle lithium batteries?

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Batman

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#293355 16-Jan-2022 10:12

FIrstly I'm wondering if Li is a finite resource. Presumably it is.

So wondering if we have a way to recycle our Li batteries say from phones, laptops etc. If there is I am not aware of it ...

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#2851375 16-Jan-2022 11:42

Yes and no ... the current sources are concentrated brines which are the most economical to extract lithium from. But it is also present in seawater so we're never going to run out of it. That said, spent batteries are a much richer source of lithium than anything else. At the moment most batteries either go into a pile or are pinched to be used in solar projects where the fact that they are worn is far outweighed by the fact that they're dirt cheap. Many labs are working on ways to make recycling economical though so it is only a matter of time before someone cracks it.

On the flip side I see the start of a trend of towards shifting away from super dense chemistries like Nickel/Cobalt/Aluminium Oxide towards the older Lithium Iron Phosphate cells. These are somewhat less energy dense in weight and volume but with the price of batteries falling and new EVs being designed to be fully electric from the ground up instead of just ripping out an ICE and stuffing in some batteries in the space where it used to be those slight disadvantages are being more than made up for with improved stability which means safer and much longer life batteries going forward. As that picks up the number of worn batteries becoming available will probably flatten out for a while because most predictions are that LFP batteries will last till the wheels fall off the car.

LFP cells also have no cobalt, which apart from being rare may also have been obtained from sources with questionable human rights records - a fact that the anti-woke crowd like to throw around all the while ignoring the human rights records of the places most of their petrol comes from - so that will decrease demand for this metal too.

So the short answer is that right now, no, most lithium batteries are not recycled but there is no reason to think it won't happen sooner rather than later.

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#2851399 16-Jan-2022 12:57

On a related note, what's the best thing to do with old batteries (including lithium, disposable and rechargeable, but also alkaline etc). We used to have a bin at work where they were taken for "recycling" (whatever that meant, hopefully something useful) but now I'm just building a collection and I'd quite like to get rid of them. I'm on the North Shore of Auckland.

k1w1k1d

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#2851402 16-Jan-2022 13:25

In Chch there are drop off bins at Bunnings, M10, Countdown, and the council operated eco-dumps.

Not sure what happens to the batteries, but hopefully better than just dumping in normal household rubbish?

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#2851403 16-Jan-2022 13:27

Toyota collects used Toyota hybrid batteries in NZ:

https://www.toyota.co.nz/about-toyota/sustainability-in-action/2020/resource/hybrid-battery-chain/

bazzer

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#2851406 16-Jan-2022 13:42

k1w1k1d:

In Chch there are drop off bins at Bunnings, M10, Countdown, and the council operated eco-dumps.

Not sure what happens to the batteries, but hopefully better than just dumping in normal household rubbish?

This website suggests there are lots of free places around the country to drop batteries off but not in Auckland! I'm happy to pay, one of the places I found is "only" $5/kg but I feel like I don't have enough to make the trip worthwhile. A bin at a local place would be awesome, but I don't know of any.

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#2851487 16-Jan-2022 16:03

Honestly it’s so stupid here. My council says Put them in landfill. They’re not worried about fires in rubbish trucks obviously.

I have found some company that will sell you a bucket. It’s about $55 or so. And that includes the recycling and shipping both ways. I figure one of those a year might be ok. For all those one off Lithium batteries

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#2851489 16-Jan-2022 16:07

davidcole: Honestly it’s so stupid here. My council says Put them in landfill. They’re not worried about fires in rubbish trucks obviously.

I have found some company that will sell you a bucket. It’s about $55 or so. And that includes the recycling and shipping both ways. I figure one of those a year might be ok. For all those one off Lithium batteries

Link please? That sounds like a good idea. Do they only want the batteries (or could you put e.g. an old phone with a non-removable battery in it)?

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#2851554 16-Jan-2022 17:05

https://upcycle.co.nz/shop/

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#2851569 16-Jan-2022 18:07

Mitsubishi has a specialist dismantling facility in NZ:

https://www.mmnz.co.nz/about/environment/our-lithium-ion-battery-recycling-policy/

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#2851582 16-Jan-2022 18:33

bazzer: This website suggests there are lots of free places around the country to drop batteries off but not in Auckland!

I was equally surprised to see the small compost bins make the news for being deployed in Akl recently. Manually picked up on foot. Going... How is that new or not being done already, we've had it in Canterbury for a good numer of years. (Poss 2009) Even with their own trucks

Seems council priorities differ across the nation

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#2851608 16-Jan-2022 19:31

On the North Shore, I take a bunch of stuff here for recycling: Abilities Group

They take almost everything, recycle everything possible, and as a bonus you're supporting people with disabilities. Nice.

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#2851609 16-Jan-2022 19:31

Oblivian:

I was equally surprised to see the small compost bins make the news for being deployed in Akl recently. Manually picked up on foot. Going... How is that new or not being done already, we've had it in Canterbury for a good numer of years. (Poss 2009) Even with their own trucks

Seems council priorities differ across the nation

doing it on the scale of auckland is not easy. but those piddly bins they offered are pathetic, all well and good to keep inside but it should be a 120L minimum for you to empty it into and can include green garden waste. Picked up fortnightly.

where ever the waste goes it gets composted, bagged and sold back to people so it pretty much pays for itself.

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#2851718 16-Jan-2022 21:06

davidcole: Honestly it’s so stupid here. My council says Put them in landfill. They’re not worried about fires in rubbish trucks obviously.

I have found some company that will sell you a bucket. It’s about $55 or so. And that includes the recycling and shipping both ways. I figure one of those a year might be ok. For all those one off Lithium batteries

My council won't even collect our rubbish so you're one up on me.

Jvipers2

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#2852491 17-Jan-2022 21:46

I’m sure the answer is no..

As to most of the “recycling” that happens here, it’s collected and loaded into a container to be shipped to a third world country

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#2852707 18-Jan-2022 09:53

Jvipers2: I’m sure the answer is no..

As to most of the “recycling” that happens here, it’s collected and loaded into a container to be shipped to a third world country

Or its stockpiled in warehouses , or literally sent to the dump . Thats what happens with plastic recycling in Ak , yes they do just dump it when warehouses are full .

Actual Recycling is a very dirty process. Its not clean & green in any way .
Sometimes its better to dump it , rather than have to somehow deal with highly concentrated toxins from recycling .