Fair warning, haven’t done a ton of research into this yet.
As far as I know recycling batteries is generally a pretty expensive process so mandating it may be a pretty hard sell. The US government should definitely be investing money into improving those processes though.
I think an easier solution would be cost neutral mandated storage of expended batteries. This would happen in 4 phases:
Upon purchase, there is a tax/free to cover transport and storage costs, and a deposit relative to battery size/improper disposal impact
Once expended, the batteries are returned to the closest local centre. Deposit is returned to the customer.
From the local centres, batteries are collected and stored, potentially long term. This cost is captured in the tax/fee.
Battery recyclers can purchase the expended batteries for the cost of only the tax/fee and deposit. This could potentially be reimbursed based on % of battery recycled, but I don’t think that is economically necessary.
Basically a combination of a bottle deposit and a tire fee. It ensures batteries have a safe space to be stored until such time as it is economically viable to recycle them.
As recycling becomes more economical, recyclers might start to purchase direct from consumers, removing state involvement from the loop.
Fair warning, haven’t done a ton of research into this yet.
As far as I know recycling batteries is generally a pretty expensive process so mandating it may be a pretty hard sell. The US government should definitely be investing money into improving those processes though.
I think an easier solution would be cost neutral mandated storage of expended batteries. This would happen in 4 phases:
Basically a combination of a bottle deposit and a tire fee. It ensures batteries have a safe space to be stored until such time as it is economically viable to recycle them.
As recycling becomes more economical, recyclers might start to purchase direct from consumers, removing state involvement from the loop.