pile of used cell phones and e-waste

 

Berkeley Electric Cooperative is partnering with Redwood Materials to offer convenient access to recycling for rechargeable devices with a lithium-ion battery. Drop-off bins will be located in each of the co-op's four district offices. The old batteries will be sent to Redwood Materials for recycling where more than 95% of the materials will be refined and reused to ultimately help build the next generation of EV batteries and clean-energy products. 

 

close up photo of solar panels

Redwood accept cell phones, laptops, tablets, cordless power tools, electric toothbrushes, wireless headphones, old vacuum batteries, and any other rechargeable device with a lithium-ion battery. This includes rechargeable lithium-ion (Li-ion) and nickel metal hydride (Ni-MH) batteries. They do not accept automotive or wet-cell batteries.

The Redwood Consumer Bins hosted at Berkeley Electric district offices provide an opportunity for members, the local community and employees to support global electrification and sustainability through responsible battery and device recycling. Currently, Redwood only has one additional recycling collection site like this in the entire state of South Carolina.

Redwood recycles your old batteries to produce raw battery materials such as anode and cathode components, which make up nearly 80% of the cost of a battery cell. These outputs can be used to create new batteries here in the U.S., helping to create a circular supply chain for EVs and other battery products, while also making them more sustainable.

Redwood's technology can recover more than 95% of the critical minerals and rare earth elements from batteries (like nickel, cobalt, lithium and copper) and then reintroduce those materials back into the supply for U.S. battery manufacturers to make batteries for new EVs and energy storage products.

Nevada-based Redwood Materials intends to build a battery materials campus on 600 acres in Camp Hall. The company’s $3.5 billion investment will create 1,500 jobs to recycle, refine and manufacture anode and cathode components. It will also create a circular supply chain strengthening American manufacturing and decreasing our reliance on foreign materials. 

For more information about Redwood Materials recycling program visit https://www.redwoodmaterials.com/recycle-with-us/

close-up of EV charging port