ERI’s Shegerian pens op-ed on battery recycling

The co-founder of one of the largest electronics recycling companies in the United States has urged America to take battery recycling more seriously if it is genuinely committed to putting a ceiling on carbon dioxide (CO₂) and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

The essay by John Shegerian of Fresno, California-based ERI Inc. was published on the Newsweek.com website in mid-February. “As we tackle one source of environmental degradation, we could sleepwalk into another,” warns Shegerian to readers who may favor the use of electric vehicles (EVs) but may not be aware of the “flood of retired EV batteries [that] is heading toward us.”

Pointing to cardboard as an example of a material with a high recycling rate, Shegerian says a similar type of campaign that boosted paper recycling is needed for batteries.

The ERI executive also mentions the fire hazards of discarded lithium-ion batteries and refers to them as “100 percent recyclable” if the effort is made.

Shegerian also refers to the economic opportunities involved in recycling the metals found in such batteries and points out that Tesla co-founder JD Straubel is among those making investments in the growing recycling sector. He also urges states without battery regulation frameworks to begin considering such measures.

The John Shegerian Newsweek op-ed can be found on this web page.