California proposes funding for Exide battery plant demo

California Gov. Gavin Newsom reportedly is asking that state’s legislature to approve a budget that will include $454 million to go toward the demolition and cleanup of the former Exide Technologies battery recycling plant in Vernon, California, near Los Angeles, and surrounding properties.

That lead-acid battery recycling plant closed in 2015 after undergoing prolonged legal battles with the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) and the South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD).

California’s prior governor, Jerry Brown, introduced a $176 million plan to clean up some affected nearby properties in 2016. In 2020, Exide Technologies filed for bankruptcy protection for its North American Operations.

In 2019, Exide claimed it “recovers 99 percent of all lead received at our recycling centers. Every year we recycle millions of pounds of lead and recover and neutralize millions of gallons of sulfuric acid.” The company says in the United States alone it recycled some 17,500 tons of plastic (predominantly polypropylene) annually from end-of-life batteries, which is used to make new battery housings.

The proposal by Newsom would continue a cleanup process stemming from the plant’s operations that has been underway since 2014, says the DTSC.

Former Exide lead-acid battery recycling plants in Muncie, Indiana, and Forest City, Missouri, are now operated by Element Resources DE LLC.