SULLIVAN COUNTY, NY — Whether it be in an electric car, a battery powered power tool or even a laptop or phone, you’ve probably used a lithium ion battery today. Lithium-ion batteries are one of the most common types of rechargeable battery and are found in all types of electronics.

However, what you might not have known is that these batteries can be extremely dangerous if not disposed of properly. 

Lithium-ion batteries can cause fires and pose a risk of contaminating the surrounding environment. Sullivan County Recycling Coordinator Kassie Thelman said that the county has faced problems with batteries at the transfer stations in the county.

“We do deal with fires at our transfer stations. We can’t necessarily trace them exactly back to the lithium-ion batteries, but we do assume that that’s what caused them,” Thelman said. “So lithium-ion batteries are one of our biggest concerns when it comes to the waste stream; we want to keep them out of our single-stream recycling and out of the regular municipal waste stream.”

In an interview, John Hauschild, the county’s director of safety and fire coordinator, emphasized how omnipresent lithium-ion batteries are in several electronic products and the importance of disposing of them properly.

“The biggest thing, you know, is don’t throw them in your household garbage,” Hauschild said. “That’s bad because then it ends up in the truck and the truck crushes it. Or it goes to the landfill, and they crush it, and then you get that thermal runaway when the battery’s damaged, and then you have a fire.”

So where do you go with your lithium-ion batteries? According to Thelman, Sullivan County works with a New Jersey based company that recycles electronics brought to the county’s transfer stations.

“We have six transfer stations throughout the county, and at all of them, we collect electronics for recycling free of charge to county residents. We are partnered with New Tech Recycling… and they come to each of our locations every other week, and they collect our electronics, so that does include lithium-ion batteries.”

Outside groups and other organizations also offer recycling options. The Battery Network, an industry group that works on spreading information about battery recycling, operates a map where people can see facilities that accept batteries. That map can be viewed on its website at batterynetwork.org/locator/. 

Not only is proper disposal and recycling of lithium-ion batteries a matter of safety, it’s also beneficial to the country as a whole. The Environmental Protection Agency encourages the recycling of batteries not only to protect the health of the environment and people, but also because of the importance of the components of the batteries. 

“[Lithium-ion] batteries are made of materials such as cobalt, graphite and lithium, which are considered critical minerals. Critical minerals are raw materials that are economically and strategically important to the U.S., have a high risk of their supply being disrupted, and for which there are no easy substitutes,” the EPA’s website says. “When these batteries are disposed of in the trash, we lose these critical resources outright.”

Both Thelman and Hauschild also said that people should follow manufacturers’ recommendations in order to maintain the integrity of your battery and to replace the battery in accordance with those recommendations in order to mitigate safety risks. 

“People have to respect the batteries,” Hauschild said.

Thelman said that if anyone has questions about questions, they can email her office at recycling@sullivanny.gov. 

In closing, Hauschild said that while people should respect batteries, they should not be afraid of them.

“People shouldn’t be afraid of them. We use them every day. Everybody uses them, whether they know it or not,” Hauschild said.