Individuals and businesses with lead-acid vehicle batteries to dispose of must recycle them. Federal law as well as many state laws forbid simply putting batteries in dumpsters or trash cans. When recycling a single battery, the best option is to visit the retailer or auto shop that sold the battery. For businesses that collect old batteries, battery recycling for cash can add to the company’s revenue. Furthermore, battery recycling is mandatory under federal law and some state laws. There are ways to make the process easier, or harder, but to understand why it helps to understand the battery recycling process.
Battery Recycling Basics
Lead-acid automotive batteries contain lead, plastic, and sulfuric acid. Lead has many obvious uses and is the largest part of a car or truck battery by weight. This is only one reason for battery recycling to be popular. The second reason is, of course, that battery recycling for cash is a realistic way for a business to make some extra money. Federal recycling laws and regulations in many states have created a market for old batteries, beyond those used in cars and light trucks.
Here is how the generic battery recycling process works: Once a recycling center receives batteries, they will sort them by type, meaning lead-acid, nickel-metal-hydride, lithium-ion and other types get sorted for handling separately. The recycling process varies depending on the type, or chemistry. The recycler breaks the batteries apart and crushes or melts the various components. Lead can be reused in batteries or a wide variety of products. The same is true for plastics used in battery casings. The nickel, cobalt, and lithium in other battery types can be worth recovering too.
Belanger Converter Recycling handles lead-acid automotive batteries, in addition to catalytic converters and aluminum wheels. Like any recycler, they have guidelines on how to prepare old batteries for processing.
Things to Do
These instructions apply to lead acid batteries used in cars, boats, motorcycles, and RVs. Nickel-metal-hydride battery packs from some hybrid vehicles could be handled in a similar fashion, though these batteries may not be accepted by every recycler. Lithium-ion battery packs from electric vehicles are a special case because transporting them can be risky. In any case, the general things to do include these steps:
Inspect – Leaky batteries should be put in sturdy plastic bags or boxes. Double bag them if using plastic. These batteries should be taken in for immediate recycling instead of being stored and shipped out with a pallet or two of car batteries.
Inventory – While inspecting the batteries you can easily make time to create an inventory or update an existing inventory. Verify that the recycler takes the types of batteries that you want to recycle.
Palletize – Pack those batteries on sturdy pallets with a plastic or cardboard sheet between each layer. Pack like sizes together on a layer to make sure the layers are even, and the weight distributed equally. Put a divider in each layer to separate the batteries on each level. Add a final layer on top for added protection.
Pack – Wrap the palletized batteries in plastic and attach an inventory sheet to each pallet. Check with a recycler to make sure you follow their requirements for packing batteries. They may restrict the maximum weight of each pallet or how high batteries may be stacked. This guideline makes sense when you remember how heavy lead-acid batteries are. Finally, the correctly loaded pallets must be wrapped and tied or banded.
A fifth step, sorting, may be added before palletizing. if you have different types of vehicle batteries to recycle. Lithium-ion battery packs from EVs need special handling so a given recycling facility or company may not want to handle them. This will become more important as EVs and hybrids become more common and more of them reach scrapyards because of age or accidents.
Things to Avoid
To ensure a smooth and safe recycling process, keep these things in mind:
1. Don’t store or transport lead-acid batteries in any position other than terminal side up. On its side, a battery is highly likely to leak even if it was intact before.
2. Don’t send lithium-ion batteries mixed with other types.
3. Don’t send lithium-ion battery packs to facilities that don’t specifically say they take them.
4. Don’t overload the pallet with batteries either. Three layers is probably all you can do.
5. Do not stack lead-acid batteries directly on top of other lead-acid batteries because the terminals could damage the battery case above and cause a leak.
Bulk Recycling is Easy and Environmentally Responsible
Battery recycling for cash is good for the environment, a potential source of extra income, and something the law generally requires. If you are a business that handles old motor vehicle batteries in large quantities, you can make recycling much easier by following the tips outlined above. Contact us to learn more about our battery recycling services. Belanger also recycles old catalytic converters singly or in bulk.
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