Innovative Emissions Control Strategies

During the panel discussion, representatives shared insights into effective approaches for minimizing emissions, including the use of advanced monitoring systems, strategic facility design, and proactive maintenance protocols. These practices exemplify how lead battery recyclers integrate technology and expertise to address environmental challenges.

Key topics included:

The Role of a Safety-First Culture

Emissions control doesn’t rely on technology alone—it’s grounded in a robust, safety-first culture. Participants at the meeting emphasized that fostering this culture is essential for effective environmental stewardship and ensuring operations meet the highest standards.

A multifaceted approach to emissions control integrates several key elements, including indoor air quality, building and process design, and outdoor environmental considerations. By combining these technical measures with enhanced management and work practices, companies can create a comprehensive system for monitoring and reducing emissions.

Success in emissions control stems from aligning corporate expectations with a safety-first mindset. This alignment ensures teams are trained and equipped to address challenges proactively. Dedicated housekeeping teams and strong internal response protocols allow companies to react immediately to potential issues, minimizing risk and maintaining compliance.

This culture of safety not only supports the technical aspects of emissions control but also reinforces the industry’s broader commitment to protecting employees, communities, and the environment.

Planning Ahead and Choosing the Right Partners

The panel underscored the importance of pre-job planning in controlling and monitoring fugitive emissions. Key recommendations included:

Diligence 24/7/365 — emissions control involves constant vigilance.
Workforce training to establish good practices, including managing the movement of lead from interior to exterior spaces.
Adherence to fugitive dust control plans, covering equipment maintenance, building exits, and roadway surfaces.

Lead Batteries: A True Circular Economy Example

The lead battery industry has achieved an extraordinary level of recycling success, with an impressive 99% recycling rate in the U.S., the highest for any consumer product. This accomplishment reflects a dedication to responsible environmental stewardship, advanced recycling practices, and continuous innovation. Designed and engineered to be broken down and recycled, nearly every component of a lead battery can be recovered and reused, creating a fully sustainable cycle.

Lead batteries are critical power sources across numerous sectors, from automotive and renewable energy storage to backup power for essential facilities such as hospitals and data centers. As the second-largest market in the global rechargeable battery industry, lead batteries continue to play a key role in meeting growing energy demands. The sustainable recycling process for lead batteries ensures a reliable supply of materials that can be continuously returned to the battery manufacturing cycle. In fact, through this process, U.S. lead battery recyclers meet approximately 59% of the country’s demand for lead, exemplifying a closed-loop, sustainable approach. Each year, ABR member companies recycle more than 160 million used batteries, ensuring that lead, plastic, and even battery acid are reprocessed and used again in new batteries or other applications.

A Nationwide Effort to Close the Loop

The success of lead battery recycling in the United States is driven by a nationwide commitment among manufacturers, retailers, recyclers, and government agencies to create accessible recycling channels for consumers and businesses alike. With over 300,000 drop-off locations nationwide, recycling is convenient and readily available. This extensive network enables Americans to recycle their spent batteries responsibly, helping prevent hazardous waste and keeping valuable materials in circulation.

ABR members are continually exploring innovative ways to enhance the sustainability of lead batteries and the recycling process. Through strategic partnerships with the U.S. government, universities, and national laboratories, they collaborate on cutting-edge research to drive technological advancements. These innovations not only result in more powerful, longer-lasting energy storage solutions but also bring the industry closer to achieving a zero-waste product. By working with key stakeholders, the industry is advancing in areas such as resource efficiency and recycling technology. These efforts strengthen lead batteries’ role as a leading example of the circular economy, demonstrating how sustainable design and recycling can effectively work together to minimize waste and maximize resource efficiency.

Watch the Journey: Lead Battery Recycling in Action

This America Recycles Day, we invite you to explore our exclusive Circular Economy video — a comprehensive look at how the lead battery industry closes the loop, illustrating a remarkable circular economy example in action. This engaging video follows the journey from design and innovation to recycling, showing how ABR members use innovative processes to reclaim and repurpose materials, turning old batteries into essential resources for new products. Witness how the lead battery industry leads the way in sustainability and learn how your everyday choices contribute to a healthier planet.

Designed to be Recycled

From the start, lead batteries are designed to be recycled. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t technologically advanced. Battery manufacturers are continually innovating, developing new technology to improve performance and extend the lifecycle of each battery. In fact, the life expectancy of lead batteries has increased by up to 50% or more over the past 20 years.

Engineered for Endless Renewal

Did you know the three main components of a lead battery are 100% recyclable? Using components made of materials that can be recycled repeatedly not only keeps these materials out of landfills, it ensures a continuous supply of valuable metal and materials that are remanufactured into new batteries. More than 90% of lead batteries sold in the U.S. are produced in North America.

Enabling Nearly Every Industry

Lead batteries play an important role in powering our daily lives and the U.S. economy. They are used in nearly every vehicle, factory, warehouse, data center, medical facility, and utility — keeping us moving, connected, and protected all day, every day.

Convenient Collection Sites

When it comes to recycling lead batteries, the industry has worked hard with manufacturers, retailers, recyclers, and government agencies to ensure there are no excuses. With a network of more than 300,000 collection sites in the U.S., recycling lead batteries is convenient for everyone. And because nearly all the materials in spent lead batteries have value, recycling is incentivized for businesses and consumers.

Nearly 100% Recyclable

Inevitably, all lead batteries will reach end-of-life. When the time comes, ABR member companies are here to ensure they are recycled responsibly  — turning discarded lead battery components into highly valuable, raw materials for new products.

Spent lead batteries are broken down and the materials are separated. Reclaimed lead, which is endlessly recyclable, is smelted, refined, and reused in new batteries. The reclaimed plastic pieces are washed and recycled into pellets to be reused in the manufacturing of new battery cases. Reclaimed acid is either neutralized and reused in the recycling process or reclaimed for manufacturing new batteries.

ABR Members Meet Critical Demand

It’s no accident that lead batteries are the #1 most recycled consumer product in the U.S. It’s a carefully choreographed collaboration between the lead battery industry and consumers to close the loop and create a fully sustainable circular economy. Every day, hundreds of semi-trailers filled with spent batteries make their way to cutting-edge recycling facilities. As a result, U.S. lead battery recyclers are able to meet 59% of domestic lead demand — ensuring manufacturers have a continuous supply of the resources they need to help power progress and provide energy security.

Lead Battery Recyclers: Critical Players in Resource Conservation

Association of Battery Recyclers (ABR) member companies play a critical role in reducing the extraction of new materials from the Earth while ensuring essential resources remain available for domestic battery manufacturing, which is vital to the U.S. economy. Domestically produced batteries are essential to day-to-day activities and critical operations. According to an economic analysis by independent research firm EBP US, the battery industry powers nearly 20% of the U.S. economy, contributing $8.1 trillion in domestic economic output and supporting nearly 48 million U.S. jobs. Notably, a new lead battery typically contains 80% recycled material, highlighting the pivotal role of recycling in sustaining this economic powerhouse.

99% of Lead Batteries are Recycled

The lead battery industry has created a strong domestic infrastructure that includes manufacturing, collection, and recycling facilities. These partnerships plus collaboration between industry and policymakers created a nationwide network of more than 300,000 collection sites, making recycling convenient for everyone. The result is an unparalleled 99% recycling rate for spent lead batteries — ensuring a steady stream of materials for manufacturing new batteries.

Sourcing Lead from Recyclers Saves Resources

While the U.S. has natural deposits of lead and a well-established, environmentally responsible mining industry, only a small portion of lead from new mining is used in batteries. In fact, 83% of the lead used by U.S. battery manufacturers is sourced from North American recyclers. Using recovered lead and plastic to produce new batteries helps conserve natural resources and requires 90% less energy than mining raw materials. Plus, lead is infinitely recyclable without any loss of future performance capacity, making it an invaluable resource for the industry.

Domestic Recycling Reduces Reliance on Foreign Countries

More than 90% of lead batteries sold in the U.S. are manufactured in North America. Using domestically sourced recycled lead, plastic and other materials to manufacture batteries significantly provides supply chain security. In contrast, other battery technologies, such as lithium-ion, rely heavily on minerals from other countries, leaving them more vulnerable to global supply chain disruptions.

With applications in nearly every industry imaginable, lead batteries are essential to our everyday life. They are also the most recycled consumer product in the United States, with an astonishing 99% of spent batteries collected and recycled. Using highly efficient recovery processes, domestic recyclers transform spent batteries back into valuable raw materials that are used to manufacture new batteries.

As a direct result of the hard work of our employees, lead battery recyclers prevent more than 160 million lead batteries from reaching landfills each year. Their work is crucial to the success of a circular economy and sustainable energy storage. Which is why on National Battery Day, February 18, the lead battery recycling industry is sharing the important work we do to protect their health and safety each and every day.

Protecting People is Our Top Priority

As an industry, lead battery recyclers are committed to the health, safety and wellbeing of our employees, their families, and the communities in which we live and work. Our employees do important jobs in sometimes demanding environments, which is why we comply with the most stringent environmental, health and safety standards in the world.

ABR member companies go one step further by continuously working to ensure their operations not only meet but exceed these standards. This includes investing in robust job safety and on-site hygiene programs, conducting comprehensive health and safety training, employing sophisticated safety equipment and environmental controls, and conducting regular monitoring to ensure these efforts continue to be effective.

How Do We Keep Employees Safe and Healthy?

Watch our new Employee Health and Safety video to hear directly from industry employees and learn more about the measures lead battery recyclers take to ensure their health and safety.

Working Together to Keep Each Other Safe

Ensuring a safe work environment is a collective endeavor that requires the cooperation and dedication of both employers and employees. From the moment our employees step into our facilities, their safety becomes our shared responsibility. Lead battery recyclers are committed to fostering a culture of safety, continuously improving safety protocols, procedures and equipment to mitigate hazards and prevent injuries.

Our top priority will always be the safety and health of our employees. By working together and embracing a culture of safety, we are not only protecting our workforce but also strengthening our communities and building a more sustainable future.

Visit our Employee Safety page to learn more about how the lead battery industry is working together to ensure the health and safety of our employees.

Fostering Industry Collaboration

“We were inspired by industry associations like ABR, BCI (Battery Council International) and ILA (International Lead Association), and all they’ve done in support of the industry to promote products that have a high rate of recyclability and are sustainable,” said Joel Brady, assistant vice president of marketing at East Penn. “It encouraged us to take a look here at East Penn and think about what we can do to amplify those messages and those efforts.”

Initiatives Driving Power2Recycle Engagement and Outreach

East Penn began the campaign in late 2023 with a Power2Recycle video on YouTube and quickly followed up with the creation of a dedicated web page at EastPennManufacturing.com/Power2Recycle. Both were shared and promoted on the company’s social media channels repeatedly over the next few months.

The initial goal of Power2Recycle was to reach at least a million people with the message that each of us has a crucial role to play in the circular economy of lead batteries. In its first few months of promotion, East Penn estimates the campaign has already reached more than 1.5 million people.

The company also issued a series of three press releases about the campaign to local, national and trade media, helping to increase awareness of lead battery recycling more broadly.

Strong Local Awareness and Community Response

The awareness campaign is already having an impact locally. After seeing stories in the hometown paper, the Reading Eagle, and on television station WFMZ, customers are bringing lead batteries to the East Penn factory sales store for recycling for the first time.

East Penn continues to build on the campaign with content they hope will help consumers sift through all the noise and confusing claims about conservation and environmental issues. Ultimately, they want consumers to see themselves in the story, understand their vital role in the process and feel empowered to make sustainable choices.

Sustainability in Product Design

East Penn’s full line of transportation batteries was recently validated by Underwriter’s Laboratory (UL) with an allocation of 98% recycled content, the world’s highest UL Recycled Content Validation for batteries. This milestone underscores East Penn’s commitment to environmental responsibility and showcases a groundbreaking step towards creating batteries with an exceptionally high level of recycled materials.

Employee Engagement and the Introduction of ManuCycling™

“The other thing that we did was we made sure that we communicated these objectives and accomplishments to our employees, because as much as we hope our employees understand the important role that they play in manufacturing it and its ties to recycling,” said Brady, “we didn’t want to take that for granted. So, we developed messages specifically for our employees that we put out through our employee app and have had over 8,000 employees engage with it.”

As part of its messaging to employees, East Penn coined the term ManuCycling™ to mean a completely integrated manufacturing and recycling process. A video on the Power2Recycle website helps explain the importance of this closed-loop system to efficiently turn old batteries into new.

When you are building a safety culture within your organization, the goal of safety controls should be to engineer as many potential hazards out of the process as possible before resorting to additional PPE. To achieve this, it’s crucial for management and safety teams or consultants to collaborate directly with the employees doing the work.

Improving Respiratory Safety with Powered Air Purifying Respirators

Choosing the right respiratory protection for your workforce can be a challenge. It must provide adequate protection against respiratory hazards and be suitable for the environment in which it will be worn. But perhaps the greatest challenge is ensuring employees are complying with company guidelines for wearing the respirator provided. Regardless of the type of respirator used, the effective protection factor (EFP) is reduced every time an employee removes it.

Powered air purifying respirators (PAPR) use a battery powered motor blower to draw air through a filter or cartridge and delivers purified air to the worker. In his presentation, Scott Shinn of 3M shared a variety of challenges PAPRs can address.

Comfort is frequently a factor when it comes to lack of compliance for respiratory protection. A PAPR gives workers the option for a loose-fitting mask that may help in hot environments to reduce sweating and fogging that may occur with other, more tight-fitting masks.

PAPRs may also provide multiple PPE functions in a single piece of equipment, potentially replacing safety glasses or face shields and hard hats or bump caps, and are designed to work together to provide more robust protection. This can help reduce the number of eye injuries.

Because PAPRs are loose-fitting, they reduce the burden of fit testing on your safety team. They can also be worn with facial hair, eliminating the requirement for employees to be clean-shaven, which can be a benefit in a tight labor market.