Public education key to reducing lithium-ion battery fires

A lithium-ion battery caught in a paper screen sparked a large fire almost two years ago at American Waste Control Inc.’s material recovery facility (MRF) in Tulsa, Oklahoma. That fire happened after the MRF already had shut down for the day April 1, 2021.

Although no employees or first responders were hurt as a result of the fire, the entire facility took a hit. It damaged the roof and structure, as well as electrical components within the building and various equipment, including optical sorters and eddy currents.

This is just one of many fires that has occurred because of lithium-ion batteries. An increasing number of products include lithium-ion batteries today, including smartphones, toys and greeting cards. The Washington-based Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) and the Silver Spring, Maryland-based Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA) hosted a webinar March 21, Preventing Lithium Battery Fires in the Recycling Industry, to discuss the safe handling, transportation and recycling of lithium-ion batteries.

“Lithium-ion batteries are a modern innovation," ISRI President Robin Wiener said. "These products often end up in the residential recycling stream and waste stream where they are causing fires. This is why ISRI and SWANA have come together to address this."

“These fires represent a significant challenge,” said Ryan Woodward, a webinar panelist and chief of legislative and regulatory affairs at the National Volunteer Fire Council. “These fires take a tremendous time to burn. Once they are extinguished, they can reignite up to two weeks after the fact.”

He added that lithium-ion batteries are featured in an increasing number of products within society. He said unless education around disposing of these materials improves, lithium-ion battery fires will likely become more common.

A growing problem

During the webinar, panelists discussed the risks lithium-ion batteries pose to waste and recycling facilities, as well as first responders and the communities in which they serve.

Wiener said she expects more lithium-ion batteries will be introduced to waste and recycling streams in the future as more products incorporate these batteries, including electric vehicles. With more products containing lithium-ion batteries, the risk of fires at waste and recycling facilities also will rise if these products aren’t disposed of properly.

She said the New York City Fire Department reported 191 fires from lithium-ion batteries from November 2021 to November 2022, with that number expected to increase this year.

Eduardo Rodriguez, deputy public works director for the Solid Waste Division for the City of Phoenix, said his department has seen an increase of fires in municipal waste and recycling trucks due to lithium-ion batteries and that the city’s MRF also has had several fires on its tipping floor.

RELATED: Update: Lithium-ion battery collection reaches new high

Craig Boswell, president of Batavia, Illinois-based HOBI International, said his company and some other electronics recyclers as well as up-and-coming battery recyclers have the ability to recycle lithium-ion batteries safely, adding that even the U.S. Department of Energy is investing in facilities to recycle these batteries.

“If you look at U.S. battery recycling capacity, over $1 billion has been put into battery recycling capacity in the last five years,” Boswell said. “The [Department of Energy] announced a $350 million credit facility to further expand our ability to recycle lithium-ion batteries and recover the valuable metals that come out of these batteries. In addition, the electronics recycling community recycles consumer electronics that contain these batteries. It’s safe to say there’s more battery recycling capacity out there than batteries that need to be recycled as we wait for the wave of EV batteries. … But as my colleagues point out, not all batteries get to where we want them to go.

“When these batteries end up in transportation and solid waste infrastructure, they represent a significant danger. It’s a safety risk to those in the facilities and to firefighters.”

In addition to safety-related risks, recycling services may be postponed in the aftermath of a waste or recycling facility fire. Robert Pickens, vice president of recycling at American Waste Control Inc., said the 2021 fire at his facility left many Tulsa residents without curbside recycling services for 11 months. The company was unable to shift those recycled materials to another MRF given the next closest MRF is more than 100 miles away in Oklahoma City.

“We processed 7.8 million pounds per month on residential and commercial lines,” Pickens said. “In the metro area, the impact was 174,000 households that were without curbside recycling for an 11-month period. We also serve the northeastern part of the state, and another 25,000 households were impacted from that.”

Fighting the fires

A combination of technologies and education can help to prevent fires at waste and recycling facilities.

Pickens discussed steps American Waste Control is taking in the aftermath of the 2021 MRF fire. The company has invested $12 million to rebuild that MRF in Tulsa and also has made sure to incorporate Fire Rover detection technology at the upgraded MRF.

Rodriguez said the city of Phoenix also is in the process of constructing a $25 million MRF, noting the city is working closely with the fire department in the development of that facility to ensure the design might minimize the risk of lithium-ion battery fires.

Pickens also has invited his local fire department to look at the upgraded MRF to familiarize themselves with the layout. “The fire department is fully aware of where everything is," he said. "They also know where the power cutoff is to the facility. They are very familiar with our facility now and potential hot spots.”

Community education also is key to reducing the risk of lithium-ion battery fires and something panelists said needs to increase as more products come with these batteries.

“I think where we need more resources is getting information to citizens,” Pickens said. “I’ve felt we’ve done a great job here in Tulsa, but we still need to get that message out even more.”

He said he has presented on this topic during local community events, such as home and garden shows.

In addition to educating the public on why lithium-ion batteries are dangerous, Rodriguez said the public needs information on where to properly dispose of their products containing lithium-ion batteries. He said the process needs to be made more convenient to encourage more residents to properly dispose of these materials.