ERI opens alkaline battery recycling plant

ERI, headquartered in Fresno, California, has opened its first alkaline battery recycling plant. The information technology asset disposition (ITAD) and cybersecurity-focused hardware destruction company says the plant is within its existing 315,000-square-foot electronics recycling and ITAD facility in Plainfield, Indiana.

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ERI co-founder, Chairman and CEO John Shegerian tells Recycling Today the company has targeted alkaline batteries because it is responding to a need.

“ERI invests millions of dollars annually into research, development and automation, keeping us at the forefront of the ITAD and electronics recycling industry and constantly exploring synergistic opportunities in adjacent industries when they make sense for ERI, our customers and our mission of protecting people, the planet and privacy," he says. "This brand new, state-of-the-art alkaline recycling plant checks all those boxes, and we couldn’t be more excited to be launching the first of what will be many alkaline recycling plants right at our flagship facility in Indiana.”

He says the new proprietary technology allows ERI to recycle millions of pounds of alkaline batteries in-house, a much greater capacity than it could handle previously.

The company chose the Indiana location for its first plant for numerous reasons.

“First, it is geographically located centrally in the country, making it easy for us to handle logistics from customers and other ERI facilities from coast to coast," Shegerian says. "Second, ERI is already heavily invested in Indiana, having one of our largest facilities in Indiana and one of our largest internal labor sources in Indiana. In addition, ERI has tremendous partners in Indiana, making it an easy decision to put our first alkaline plant here.”

The Indiana plant is the first of many alkaline battery recycling plants the company plans to open throughout the U.S. in 2025 and beyond. 

“As we expand our alkaline recycling footprint, we will continue to utilize similar technology to what is now running at our Indiana facility," Shegerian says of the planned facilities. "We are constantly evaluating where to open new facilities based on customer demand, shipping lanes and a variety of other factors to ensure we remain the leading brand in our space and continue to service all our customers in the areas they need us most.”

ERI is accepting all types of alkaline batteries for recycling at its eight recycling locations in Arizona, California, Indiana, Massachusetts, New Jersey, North Carolina, Texas and Washington.

The company has long handled a variety of battery types, including alkaline and lithium-ion.

“For years we have received and processed batteries and through strategic partnerships have ensured that batteries are recycled in a safe and sustainable manner," Shegerian says.

In the news release about the facility's opening, he says, “We are proud and excited to take this latest significant step in the evolution of ERI and the services we provide our customers and the public at large. Our innovative alkaline battery recycling process produces zero waste products, is circular-economy-focused and yields clean commodity outputs, creating a truly circular ecosystem. This is a natural progression for us to be able to offer a complementary service to ERI’s existing suite of e-waste, end of life and asset management services.”

Through many of the company’s existing electronic recycling downstream processors and partnerships, Shegerian says ERI can handle the raw commodities generated through alkaline battery recycling.

“It’s genuinely rewarding to be able to help so many people and businesses do the right thing by conveniently and responsibly recycling their alkaline batteries and keeping toxins out of landfills,” he adds.