Closing the Loop: Volkswagen Partners with Redwood Materials on Household Battery Recycling
By Edward A. Sanchez — April 4, 2023
We’re all guilty of it: Hoarding old consumer electronics items with batteries that are no longer functional, or no longer hold a reasonable charge. Many of us have them stashed in desk and kitchen drawers not knowing exactly what to do with them, or simply not wanting to deal with the hassle of drop-off, as most municipalities and refuse collection services don’t have a regular disposal/recycling bin for them. Well, being a responsible citizen of this planet just got easier, as Volkswagen of America has announced a partnership with Redwood Materials to begin accepting used household batteries at its dealerships starting April 22, 2023 – appropriately enough Earth Day.
Reclamation and recycling has long been the missing link in the virtuous cycle of EVs and renewable energy, and long a poignant point for critics of EVs and renewables to needle advocates on, making the valid point of how truly “renewable” mining is for these resources. Most recently, Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares wondered out loud if the global mining industry could even deliver the needed amount of raw materials for rapid ramp in vehicle electrification.
The EV battery industry could be sitting on a virtual gold mine in the desk and kitchen drawers of consumers, something Redwood Materials’s J.B. Straubel has said for a long time. He is credited with the quote, “The largest lithium mine could be in the junk drawers of America.”
In the video, Straubel concurs with Tavares in saying, “There are only so many geologic sources for a lot of these key materials. So many of these consumer products are just getting locked away, literally, in people’s proverbial ‘drawer at home.’ There are a lot of barriers to productively recycling [of used batteries and electronics].”
Lithium doesn’t always have to be mined — it can be reclaimed from recycled batteries.
While this partnership is an important step in consumer awareness, it doesn’t solve the core problem of ease-of-use for consumers. Communication between waste management companies and customers will be key. Mail-out of bags to put used batteries and devices and picked up at regular intervals (monthly, perhaps) would be one way of increasing the level of recycling. But will customers know what to do when a random bag shows up in their mailbox?
While Elon Musk is front-of-mind for most consumers in relation to the Tesla brand, J.B. Straubel had as much or arguably an even greater influence on the design and engineering of Tesla’s vehicles. Tesla’s and Straubel’s unique approach to engineering put Tesla years – if not a decade – ahead of most of its peers in production techniques and engineering. If anyone has the technical knowledge to make battery recycling work on a large scale, it’s Straubel. The key will be consumer awareness and figuring out effective and easy-to-use reclamation strategies.
Below is the list of participating dealerships for the April 22, 2023, initiative:
• Findlay VW Henderson – Henderson, NV
• Flow Volkswagen – Wilmington, NC
• Hall VW – Brookfield, WI
• Herzog-Meier VW – Beaverton, OR
• Lindsay VW – Manassas, VA
• Lindsay VW of Dulles – Sterling, VA
• Mission Bay Volkswagen - San Diego, CA
• Reydel Volkswagen – Edison, NJ
• Reydel Volkswagen – Linden, NJ
• Sendell Volkswagen – Greensburg, PA
• Street VW – Amarillo, TX
• Tracy Volkswagen – Hyannis, MA
• Toms River Volkswagen – Toms River, NJ
• University VW – Albuquerque, NM
(Images courtesy Volkswagen)
