Rechargeable Batteries in Waste Stream Can Contaminate Waterways, Cause Fires
Audit Finds Department of Environmental Conservation Unaware If Manufacturers, Retailers Obey Recycling Law Created to Protect Environment, Public Safety
“We use devices with rechargeable batteries every day, but they pose serious environmental risks if they’re not properly recycled,” DiNapoli said. “Unfortunately, the agency responsible for making sure they get recycled has little knowledge of whether it’s actually happening or whether they’re going out with the trash where they put New York’s environment, public health and safety at risk. DEC has to start monitoring compliance with the law, and enforcing it, or this hazard will only get worse as use of rechargeable batteries increases.”
Rechargeable batteries can contain toxic metals such as mercury, lead, cadmium, nickel and silver, and lithium-ion, all of which can pose a threat to the environment and human health and safety if they are not properly recycled. If they’re just put in the garbage and enter the waste stream, they can end up in landfills and their chemicals can leak into public water systems, lakes and streams. Lithium-ion batteries can ignite or explode if they are damaged in the waste stream and were the cause of a six-alarm fire on a trash barge in December 2021.
DEC is responsible for enforcing the 2010 New York State Rechargeable Battery Law that requires manufacturers and retailers recycle rechargeable batteries with some exceptions such as large batteries weighing over 25 pounds and rechargeable vehicle batteries. Recycling in New York is managed by Call2Recycle (C2R), a non-profit program funded by the rechargeable battery and portable electronics industry, under a plan approved by the DEC in 2013.
C2R provides collection bins, pays for shipping and sorting and selects recycling facilities, so there are no public costs or public collection sites. C2R also creates, and submits to the DEC, an annual report on the recycling efforts that battery manufacturers are required to provide under the law. Between 2017 and 2020, C2R reported collecting 996,149 pounds of rechargeable batteries – mostly nickel-cadmium, followed by sealed lead, lithium-ion, and nickel metal hydride.
DiNapoli’s audit found that, outside of C2R’s efforts, the DEC has no independent awareness of whether rechargeable batteries are being recycled in New York as the law requires or how much is being recycled. The agency also does little with the annual reports that C2R submits on behalf of manufacturers.
C2R’s 2020 report listed 189 manufacturers in its recycling program that sell rechargeable batteries in the state. In 2014, it gave DEC a list of 75 manufacturers that were not in the program and might not have been complying with the law. DEC sent letters that resulted in 25 joining the program, but has taken no action since then to check on the remaining 50 manufacturers.
In 2021, C2R sent DEC a list of the top 10 manufacturers that are not in its recycling program, but the agency has not taken any action on it. Auditors were able to reach seven of the manufacturers who each stated they had no recycling program. Two of them are large companies with more than 14,000 employees and $5 billion in revenue.
As of September 2021, there were 911 retail locations in C2R’s program. Auditors checked on 30 of them and found five did not know they were enrolled in the program to collect and recycle rechargeable batteries and three did not have a collection bin. There are at least 1,248 more retailers that may be subject to the law but are not in the program or have not implemented another means for collecting and recycling batteries. Auditors checked with 72 of them and found a large majority (69%) did not have collection bins for consumers.
Because it is not checking to see if manufacturers and retailers are following the law, DEC has not issued a single fine or penalty since the law was passed. Violators of the law can face penalties of $50 to $200 for consumers, $200 to $500 for retailers, and $2,000 to $5,000 for manufacturers.
DEC is required under the law to analyze the information it gets from C2R, and its own monitoring efforts, and submit a report every two years to the Legislature and the Executive. It has never submitted a report.
Rechargeable battery usage will continue to grow, including those powering electric vehicles, not covered by the law. A law passed in September 2021 requires that by 2035 all new cars and trucks sold in New York have zero emissions. Rechargeable vehicle batteries pose the same threats to the environment and individuals’ health as the batteries that are required to be recycled under the law. The rising use of the batteries increases the urgency that DEC uphold its responsibilities under the law and demonstrate strong oversight of recycling.
DiNapoli’s audit recommended that DEC monitor, enforce and promote the recycling law and that it submit the biennial reports called for in the law.
In its response, the agency cited lack of resources for its failure to monitor or enforce the law. In 2018, it reported seven employees spent 7% of their time on oversight of rechargeable battery recycling, falling to five employees spending 2% of their time as of August 2021. The employees are also charged with overseeing proper disposal of electronic waste, mercury products and toxins in packaging. The agency’s full response is in the audit.
Report
Department of Environmental Conservation, Oversight and Enforcement of the Rechargeable Battery Law
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