BCMRC 2025 keynote session preview: A playbook for accessible battery recycling

The upcoming Battery and Critical Metals Recycling Conference, June 9-10 in Nashville, Tennessee, will kick off with an opening keynote featuring Shannon Crawford Gay, director of recycling and environmental policy at WM; Cameron McDonald, vice president of merchandising, planning and inventory at Batteries Plus; Craig Decker, manager of corporate sales for the Green Bay Packers; and Dominic Brown, director of business development at Cirba Solutions.

During A Playbook for Accessible Battery Recycling, June 10 from 8:30-9:30 a.m. CT, this team of speakers will discuss how partnerships can create more jobs, promote safer disposal and make a lasting impact on communities and the battery industry.

Ahead of the event, Recycling Today sat down with McDonald and Brown to talk strategy, challenges and opportunities and how their collaboration with the Packers is paving a pathway forward for battery recycling.

Recycling Today (RT): What are some of the challenges and opportunities for battery recycling?  

Cameron McDonald (CM): A 2024 Cirba Solutions survey revealed 53 percent of respondents don't know how to properly recycle lithium batteries, and 41 percent are unaware of the dangers of improper disposal. This highlights an urgent need for greater education and action as the U.S. shifts toward more battery-powered energy solutions.

Proper recycling is essential for improving safety, recovering critical materials, supporting a domestic circular economy and meeting rising battery demand. However, current recycling options are often inconvenient, infrequent, costly or lack the expertise to manage damaged batteries. Limited public awareness and incentives further discourage or limit participation. As a result, only about 5 percent of lithium batteries are currently recycled. Expanding national awareness efforts and offering free, convenient recycling at more than 700 Batteries Plus locations will help return millions of tons of vital critical minerals to the U.S. supply chain.  

Dominic Brown (DB): The battery recycling industry is currently full of opportunities.

First and foremost, there is a huge opportunity to educate consumers on the importance of recycling their end-of-life batteries, which includes the positive impacts battery recycling can have on the environment, and when batteries are properly disposed of, we can enhance safety for everyone involved in the battery recycling process.

Additionally, if we recycle end-of-life batteries, we can extract the critical minerals found in them, such as lithium, nickel, cobalt and manganese, to be put back into the domestic supply chain to be used over and over again, specifically in the manufacturing of new batteries.

When we increase battery recycling it not only lessens our reliance on virgin mining but also supports the priority of accelerating access to domestically sourced critical minerals, thereby enhancing national security and global competitiveness and reducing dependency on foreign sources.

On the flip side, when we think of challenges, education is top of mind. There is an enormous amount of feedstock out there, but we must do better at educating consumers about the importance of recycling postconsumer batteries like cellphones, laptops, power tools, toys, etc. That is where this partnership with Batteries Plus and the Packers really comes into play—we can utilize their expansive network to reach an even larger audience.

When consumers have access to the necessary education, they have the knowledge and power on why and how they can recycle their used batteries.

RT: How did the idea of the partnership come together and what is the mission of the partnership?

CM: Batteries Plus and Cirba Solutions have been trusted partners for more than 15 years, working together to advance battery recycling efforts.

Batteries Plus, with more than 30 years of recycling leadership, processes approximately 50 million pounds of batteries each year, earning its reputation as America's front door to battery recycling. Building on this strong foundation, Batteries Plus and Cirba Solutions have deepened their collaboration to drive even greater recycling volumes through this enhanced partnership.

The partnership is further strengthened by the shared hometown roots and community values of Batteries Plus and the Packers. Founded in 1988 with its first store in Green Bay, Wisconsin, Batteries Plus has maintained a strong local connection. Similarly, the Packers, one of the world’s most valuable and well-known sports franchises, have a passionate fan base who deeply values their communities. By combining the Packers’ global reach with the hometown pride of both organizations, this partnership creates a powerful opportunity to engage consumers directly and promote the importance of battery recycling.

Our mission is as follows: Together, Batteries Plus, Cirba Solutions and the Green Bay Packers are committed to empowering communities through responsible battery recycling. By combining decades of recycling leadership, innovative solutions and national reach, we aim to make battery recycling accessible, convenient and impactful for every consumer. Through this partnership, we will recover more critical materials, keep our communities safe and build a stronger and more energy independent future in the U.S.

RT: What specific initiatives have been implemented to promote battery recycling through this partnership? 

CM: This partnership kicked off with excitement at a press event held at the historic Lambeau Field on Aug. 1, 2024. There was a preview of the "Power House" fan activation, where attendees come during select regular season games to learn more about battery recycling, get entered for chances to win exclusive Packers prizes and play some fun battery-themed games. Representatives from Cirba Solutions also were on-site to explain the recycling process of batteries and talk about second life applications, making it a truly circular experience.

During last season, the Power House was activated at two regular season games as a direct way to engage with Packers fans on the importance of battery recycling and how they can do their part. At every regular home game of the season, in-stadium messaging that educated fans on battery recycling was shown, with a special game ball delivery from a Packers fan who championed battery recycling. Messaging remained focused on taking action—encouraging fans to act by bringing their batteries to a Batteries Plus store. 

Additionally, Batteries Plus and the Packers partnered on numerous fan giveaways connected directly back to battery recycling. Throughout the season, customers who brought their batteries to a Batteries Plus location in the state of Wisconsin were entered into a drawing for additional Packers giveaways. Other digital marketing partnership assets were deployed to further reinforce the partnership and get the message out to fans to take action and recycle.    

RT: What results have you seen thus far from the partnership?

CM: Early results of the partnership, which are less than a year from launching, are very exciting and have been a touchdown for our objectives. We have seen recycling volumes within our Wisconsin stores increase by 100 percent since launching in August 2024. Feedback from our store associates and customers has been engaging, and we even have had fans call our corporate office to check and see if they won a Packers prize by recycling—we love the passion of Packers fans.

Most importantly, we have noticed an uptick in new customers coming into our stores and recycling. This means we are creating new habits from new consumers by incentivizing recycling over disposing of their batteries in a landfill. Our store associates also have loved the excitement that a world-famous brand like the Packers has brought directly into our stores on a topic of battery recycling that maybe is not as exciting to those outside of the battery profession. 

RT: What’s next for the partnership heading into a new season this fall?

CM: Planning for the 2025-2026 season is already underway. Our goal is to continue keeping the message simple: Your batteries can be recycled conveniently and safely at your local Batteries Plus store. Packers fans who participate can win a new set of exclusive giveaways.

We also plan to further enhance our fan activation experience, the Power House, and bring more battery imagery into the in-stadium experience. As this partnership enters Year 2, we are ready for even more marketing and promotion within the state of Wisconsin to pair up a household brand like the Packers with Batteries Plus and battery recycling.

RT: What do you hope attendees take away from this session?

CM: Batteries Plus, Cirba Solutions and the Packers are innovating the way local battery recycling can achieve exponential results. Attendees can get a firsthand glimpse into the playbook created, lessons learned and ways to get more involved with partnerships like these.

DB: Ultimately, I want attendees to see that increasing access and capacity to recycle end-of-life batteries is something that can be achievable on both a small and large scale, which is being demonstrated through this strategic partnership with Batteries Plus and the Packers. It is not something that will happen overnight; it all starts with recycling one battery at a time.

Part of making [battery recycling] a reality is establishing partnerships between organizations and certified battery recyclers to ensure safe handling of batteries and that consumers are being properly educated on how and why to recycle used batteries.