Battery fires are so common in the waste and recycling industry that when Circular Services had three incidents in two days recently, Joaquin Mariel wasn’t shy about sharing the information. “I'm not even saying something that anybody in our industry would be surprised by. They'd say, ‘Yeah, you know, we're right there with you.’”
Mariel, Circular Services’ Chief Commercial Officer, is among those who sees a need to invest in more proactive solutions to prevent battery-related fires that have long plagued the industry. At a Thursday webinar presented by Waste Today and the National Waste & Recycling Association, speakers delved into new technologies, policy updates and education avenues that companies are exploring to mitigate their fire risk from batteries.
Sean Finney, regional program manager at The Battery Network, said keeping an eye out for telltale signs of thermal runaway can help manage a fire before it gets too big. That means listening for popping noises, identifying strong chemical odors and looking for smoke. Isolate the battery if it’s safe to do so, he said, otherwise follow the building’s set fire procedures.
Turning to new technology
Testing and adopting new technologies is a key way more recycling and waste facility operators are trying to prevent battery fires. The use cases include helping to prevent batteries from entering trucks, transfer stations or MRFs.
Mariel said Circular Services’ proactive approach involves installing and testing a new detection system for batteries and other hazards. Technology can be one important tool to help operators focus on their daily tasks instead of “becoming firefighters, which is not our job.”
The machinery Circular Services will use is called Sentry, made by CP Group. It uses components such as X-rays, RGB cameras and artificial intelligence-based image analysis to detect batteries or hazards like propane cylinders along a belt, said Felix Hottenstein, sales director at MSS, the optical sorting division of CP Group. Then, the system is designed to extract the hazard instead of relying on an operator to stop the belt and manually pick off the battery.
Other companies also have recently introduced battery detection and removal solutions. Several now offer sorting systems equipped with X-ray technology meant to identify hazards like batteries, while others offer truck-mounted equipment that can see such hazards from curbside bins.
Mariel hopes the Sentry technology will integrate well into Circular Services’ operations and also help beyond its walls.
“We don't want to just pass the problem on to our landfill partners that are managing the residue that comes out of these facilities,” he said. “We're really excited to be at the forefront testing this technology with CP to see if this is something that can be added to everybody's tool belt, just like we've added so many other tools through automation.”
Federal and state bills working in tandem
The industry is also working at the federal level to influence policies for battery safety and recycling initiatives, said Sara Bixby, NWRA’s director of regulatory and environmental affairs.
She highlighted the recently introduced Battery Recycling for America's Competitive Economy Act, led by Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, R-Iowa. The bipartisan bill aims to update certain recycled battery storage requirements, a move bill sponsors say would help alleviate permitting burdens for certain recyclers. That could also make it easier to keep battery-derived critical minerals in the United States instead of being shipped overseas, bill sponsors say.
At issue is how lithium-ion batteries are regulated under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. The EPA says the batteries’ wide variety of chemistries can make it difficult for battery recyclers to determine whether they should be regulated as hazardous waste or under federal “universal waste” regulations.
In 2023, EPA announced its intention to develop a separate category of universal waste for lithium-ion batteries, but no rule has been finalized yet. The Brace Act calls for the EPA to finalize rulemaking on this issue no later than 18 months after the bill is passed.
NWRA is also monitoring EPA's 2026 unified agenda, which mentioned the creation of a distinct universal waste category for lithium batteries.
“We learned just a couple of weeks ago that that progress has been delayed somewhat, and the proposed rule language might be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget by the end of this calendar year,” Bixby said.
At the state level, webinar speakers also promoted battery extended producer responsibility bills as a way to more efficiently and effectively collect batteries. NWRA generally supports battery EPR. The District of Columbia and 13 states have passed some version of EPR for small and medium-format batteries, most recently in Kentucky and Wisconsin this year.
The Battery Network typically operates as the producer responsibility organization for states. Finney said the setup of each state’s law is slightly different, but generally requires battery manufacturers to fund recycling, collection and education outreach efforts, “which is huge,” he said. “And for these EPR states, whether you're a private business or a public collection site, these solutions will be free, including freight. So that's helpful when putting a collection system together.”
The Battery Network and NWRA, along with the related National Waste & Recycling Foundation, announced on Thursday that they would form a strategic partnership to better support battery safety education and promote responsible recovery efforts.
