Battery curiosity is up, drop-offs are down — and that’s a fire risk haulers can’t ignore

Public interest in battery recycling is spiking, but fewer people are actually bringing batteries to collection points. That’s the unsettling split in The Battery Network’s latest impact report — and it matters far beyond e-scrap. For haulers, MRFs, and transfer stations, that gap turns into hot loads, line stops, and emergency calls. Treat this as an operations problem, not a public education footnote.

Online engagement surges while participation slips

E-Scrap News reports that The Battery Network (formerly Call2Recycle) logged a sharp jump in online engagement in 2025 — including a 42% increase in searches for drop-off locations and a sizable rise in inquiries — even as total participation edged down year over year. The group also saw a spike in the number of collection sites. On paper, that’s a paradox: more curiosity, more access points, but fewer people completing the loop.

For operators, the explanation is familiar. Convenience still dominates behavior. If the “right” option isn’t as easy as the trash cart, batteries will keep slipping into MSW and single-stream, especially embedded cells in small electronics. Retail drop-offs, HHW events, and specialty locations help, but they only capture the motivated subset of residents and small businesses. The rest end up in your packers and on your lines.

The operational stakes: fires, downtime, and rising costs

This isn’t an abstract contamination issue. Lithium cells crushed in hopper floors or compactors can go into thermal runaway. At MRFs, prying open e-scrap or puncturing pouches on screens and belts can trigger incidents that halt production. Beyond equipment damage, the real exposure is systemic: overtime for emergency cleanups, skipped routes, customer credits, and, increasingly, insurance scrutiny and premiums.

When participation in formal battery programs softens while interest rises, you can assume batteries are still moving — just through the wrong channels. That’s a routing and risk management problem:

• Route-level exposure: Residential dense routes and downtown commercial corridors with lots of small electronics disposal are hotspots. If drivers don’t have clear SOPs for spotting and isolating suspect set-outs, risk concentrates.
• Transfer and MRF intake: The farther a hidden battery travels before it’s discovered, the more expensive the outcome. Early detection at the tip floor or pre-sort buys you time and options.
• Cost recovery: Without documented exceptions tied to customer accounts, you’ll eat the downstream costs when contamination causes slowdowns or incidents.

Policy is coming — but program design still decides outcomes

Battery stewardship and EPR programs are expanding or tightening in multiple jurisdictions, and The Battery Network’s rebranding underscores that producers and retailers are leaning back into the problem, as reported by E-Scrap News. But whether funded by producers or ratepayers, program design still determines capture. Voluntary drop-off alone won’t reach the batteries flowing with everyday trash. Two models consistently move the needle for operators:

• Managed curbside options: Prepaid battery bags or labeled pouches collected on scheduled days, kept separate from compaction. Some municipalities and private haulers have piloted this with decent compliance when the kit is in the home and pickup is simple.
• Retail/hauler partnerships: If retailers are required to take batteries, haulers can integrate scheduled retail backhauls or cage swaps, turning a scattered drop-off network into a planned, safe route segment with known handling protocols.

Even with EPR dollars in play, data discipline will decide who gets reimbursed. If your operation can’t prove safe handling, quantities, and incident logs, expect to be on the outside of any stewardship payments looking in.

What operators should do now

You don’t need to wait for the perfect ordinance or a signed stewardship MOU to reduce risk and reclaim margin:

• Build a curbside “safe battery pickup” SKU. Make it easy to add to a residential account. Provide the bag, the label, and the day. No compaction.
• Train for early intercepts. Give drivers a fast, usable exception path when they spot e-waste or loose batteries at the curb. Photo, tag, and leave-behind education.
• Harden your first 50 feet. Thermal cameras or spotters at the tip floor, fire blankets at key points, and a clearly marked isolation bin for suspect items. Minutes matter.
• Price the risk. Add a battery contamination fee and fire incident downtime clause to commercial agreements. If you’re bearing the risk, the contract should acknowledge it.
• Instrument the data. Tie exceptions, photos, and incident logs to accounts and loads. When EPR payments flow, documentation will be your eligibility ticket.