These rechargeable batteries contain minerals in limited supply, such as nickel, lithium and cobalt, many of which are mined in third world countries. Mining is not environmentally friendly, and these countries do not adhere to high environmental and safety standards (including child labor). In the case of cobalt, the mines and the processing are dominated by China.

Future supply of these minerals will not be able to keep up with the surge in demand. Today, less than 5% of consumer lithium-ion batteries are recycled and many have ended up in landfills, causing fires and harmful environmental impacts.

The Rotary Clubs of Plattsburgh and Lake Placid are partnering with Redwood Materials, a company founded by the ex-CTO of Tesla, JB Straubel. Having led battery cell design and scaling, the first Gigafactory at Tesla, Straubel saw the need to recycle lithium-ion batteries, especially in electric cars.

Redwood focuses on creating a closed loop supply chain for battery components, built from as many end-of-life batteries as possible, including consumers’ rechargeable lithium-ion devices and batteries.

JB has stated, “Perhaps the largest lithium and cobalt mines can be found in the junk drawers of America.”

If we recover these scarce metals from non-working or not needed products and consumer lithium-ion batteries (which can be sustainably broken down to their raw metals nearly infinitely) we significantly decrease the United States electric vehicle batteries’ reliance on newly mined materials.

Rotary Clubs of Lake Placid and Plattsburgh are offering two locations for a recycling event on May 13.

The Rotary Club of Lake Placid event will be held from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the North Elba transfer station, 74 Recycle Circle Lane, Lake Placid.

The Rotary Club of Plattsburgh event will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Valcour Brewing Company, 49 Ohio Ave., Plattsburgh.

Our goal is to develop awareness and a movement to “mine the junk drawers of America”. You do not need to extract the battery to recycle, just bring the entire item. Recovering these essential minerals will help ensure the security of American supply chains for electric vehicle batteries and clean energy products.

We accept any rechargeable devices with a lithium-ion battery such as:

¯ Bluetooth speakers

¯ Cellphones

¯ E-bike batteries

¯ E-readers

¯ Electric shavers

¯ Electric toothbrushes

¯ Hair clippers

¯ Laptops

¯ Power tool batteries

¯ Tablets

¯ Vapes (empty)

¯ Wireless headphones

If people want further information, please reach out to me: rotarylakeplacid@gmail.com.

(Charlotte Newbury is a member of the Rotary Club of Lake Placid.)