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>It is a recyclable component. In theory, batteries are not currently recycled in any scale equivalent to these proposals. Plastic is also recyclable but most

>It is a recyclable component. In theory, batteries are not currently recycled in any scale equivalent to these proposals. Plastic is also recyclable but most of it ends up in landfills due to it being uneconomical.

the8472 7y ago
Time will tell. Right now no industrial-scale deployments have reached EoL, so it's not surprising that there's little recycling. Plus those things also contain cobalt, which is significantly more expensive, plastic doesn't have that incentive.
- dharma1 7y ago
  No cobalt in the new dry battery tech they got from the Maxwell acquisition. I hope Tesla has a plan for recycling the batteries they manufacture
  - toomuchtodo 7y ago
    Tesla is already recycling batteries at Gigafactory 1. https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1122631_tesla-launches-battery-recycling-at-nevada-gigafactory https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1122631_tesla-launches-...
Pfhreak 7y ago
We also tend to put plastic into contact with food and small packaging, create many different types and form factors, and ship it consumers. I imagine the recycling problem for a known environment (e.g. a power facility's used batteries) vs an unknown environment (e.g. consumer houses) is significantly different. I do wonder (and a quick google search didn't turn much up) how the rates of industrial plastic recycling compare with consumer rates.
oska 7y ago
Lead acid batteries, a mature battery technology, have a 99% recycling rate in the USA [1] (and similar rates in other developed economies). [1] https://www.recyclingtoday.com/article/battery-council-international-lead-battery-recycling/ https://www.recyclingtoday.com/article/battery-council-inter...
rcMgD2BwE72F 7y ago
>batteries are not currently recycled in any scale equivalent to these proposals They're already recycled at >50% https://www.pv-magazine.com/2019/07/12/lithium-ion-recycling-rates-far-higher-than-some-statistics-suggest/ https://www.pv-magazine.com/2019/07/12/lithium-ion-recycling... although there's still no need to recycle them in volume (since we are only starting to deploy Li-Ion batteries for EV and stationary storage, which last for more than a decade)

the8472 7y ago

Time will tell. Right now no industrial-scale deployments have reached EoL, so it's not surprising that there's little recycling. Plus those things also contain cobalt, which is significantly more expensive, plastic doesn't have that incentive.

dharma1 7y ago
No cobalt in the new dry battery tech they got from the Maxwell acquisition. I hope Tesla has a plan for recycling the batteries they manufacture
- toomuchtodo 7y ago
  Tesla is already recycling batteries at Gigafactory 1. https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1122631_tesla-launches-battery-recycling-at-nevada-gigafactory https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1122631_tesla-launches-...

Pfhreak 7y ago

We also tend to put plastic into contact with food and small packaging, create many different types and form factors, and ship it consumers. I imagine the recycling problem for a known environment (e.g. a power facility's used batteries) vs an unknown environment (e.g. consumer houses) is significantly different. I do wonder (and a quick google search didn't turn much up) how the rates of industrial plastic recycling compare with consumer rates.

oska 7y ago

Lead acid batteries, a mature battery technology, have a 99% recycling rate in the USA [1] (and similar rates in other developed economies). [1] https://www.recyclingtoday.com/article/battery-council-international-lead-battery-recycling/ https://www.recyclingtoday.com/article/battery-council-inter...

rcMgD2BwE72F 7y ago

>batteries are not currently recycled in any scale equivalent to these proposals They're already recycled at >50% https://www.pv-magazine.com/2019/07/12/lithium-ion-recycling-rates-far-higher-than-some-statistics-suggest/ https://www.pv-magazine.com/2019/07/12/lithium-ion-recycling... although there's still no need to recycle them in volume (since we are only starting to deploy Li-Ion batteries for EV and stationary storage, which last for more than a decade)