Just like their wheels, the lithium batteries on electric bikes and scooters are set to go round and round in Australia in an extension of the national recycling scheme.
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The Battery Stewardship Council revealed it had signed up three electric bicycle and scooter brands to its its B-cycle program and was holding discussions with other manufacturers and retailers to widen collections.
The announcement comes days after Australia's state and federal environment ministers met to address the rising threat of fires caused by incorrect battery disposals, which authorities warn are putting lives at risk.
Battery Stewardship Council chief executive Libby Chaplin told AAP the organisation quietly added an e-bike battery recycling option to its website earlier this year after partnering with bicycle brand Giant, and scooter firms Beam Mobility and Benzina Zero.
"We've only just started delving into the e-bike sector and we have about 260 drop-off points nationally but we've started to actively engage with the sector to get new members," she said.
"There's a real opportunity for the industry to work with us and provide comprehensive solutions."
Ms Chaplin said the organisation was holding discussions with major e-bike brands about the scheme because it had the potential to reprocess and repurpose most of a battery's contents, including lithium, cobalt and graphite, while also reducing the risk of battery fires.
"It's really important that we're not storing used, old batteries at home and that we're not putting them into kerbside, waste and recycling bins," she said.
"We're seeing about one fire a day in the waste and recycling sector from lithium batteries."
Uncertainty about the best way to dispose of faulty or damaged e-bike and e-scooter batteries had seen many incorrectly collected by council rubbish and recycling trucks, she said, which crushed the batteries and sparked fires.
The safety issue was raised last week by the Waste Management and Resource Recovery Association, which called on federal and state governments to work out ways to remove batteries from the typical waste stream.
Association chief executive Gayle Sloan said more collection points and greater education about battery safety was vital to prevent fires.
"We need urgent action on the ground now for collection points in all states, for all batteries, while the plan is being developed," she said.
A Fire and Rescue NSW report into lithium-ion batteries found they were involved in 285 fires in 2023, including 67 that involved electric bikes, scooters or ride-on toys.
State and federal environment ministers met on Friday last week to discuss the growing risk of battery fires and agreed to "accelerate work towards product stewardship for all batteries," in a project led by Queensland, NSW and Victorian governments.
In the meantime, Ms Chaplin said anyone who needed to dispose of a lithium battery should put sticky tape over its metal terminals and search for a recycling drop-off point at the B-cycle website.
Australian Associated Press
