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How to Recycle EV Batteries
High-voltage EV and hybrid traction packs, modules, cells, and related parts. Dealer or licensed dismantler only. Not trash, curbside, or retail battery bins.
6 materials covered6 recyclable
EV Lithium-Ion Batteries
Full high-voltage lithium-ion traction battery packs from battery-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles (and many hybrid NiMH packs). Packs contain lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese, graphite, copper, and aluminum. EPA: medium and large Li-ion do not go in household garbage or municipal recycling. Contact the manufacturer, dealer, or installer. Traction packs are not 12-volt starter batteries.
Learn how to recycle EV Lithium-Ion Batteries
EV Battery Modules
Battery modules are intermediate assemblies inside an EV or hybrid traction pack: groups of cells with structural framing and often cooling interfaces. They still hold high energy density and are regulated as lithium batteries when shipped. Public recycling paths run through the whole-pack dealer or dismantler stream, not retail battery bins.
Learn how to recycle EV Battery Modules
EV Battery Cells
Individual lithium-ion cells (cylindrical, pouch, or prismatic) that make up EV battery modules. Industrial recyclers recover metals and graphite from automotive cells through pack teardown. Loose EV cells short easily and are a major fire risk. Micromobility cells from e-bikes and scooters may fit portable Li-ion retail programs when size limits allow.
Learn how to recycle EV Battery Cells
EV Battery Management Systems
Battery management system (BMS) boards, sensors, and controllers that monitor cell voltage, temperature, and pack safety in EVs and hybrids. Boards contain copper, solder, and other metals recoverable through certified electronics recycling once the pack is safely disconnected.
Learn how to recycle EV Battery Management Systems
EV Battery Thermal Management
Liquid cooling loops, cold plates, pumps, hoses, heat exchangers, and sensors that manage EV pack temperature. Many systems use glycol-based coolant similar to ICE antifreeze (toxic if dumped). Some designs use refrigerant or air cooling; follow the OEM drain procedure. Dielectric oil immersion systems need specialty hazmat handling.
Learn how to recycle EV Battery Thermal Management
EV Battery Enclosures
Protective aluminum or steel housings, trays, covers, and mounting brackets for EV and hybrid traction packs. Once empty of cells, modules, busbars, and coolant residue, the metal enclosure enters ordinary scrap-metal recycling. Enclosure recycling is not the same as pack recycling.
Learn how to recycle EV Battery Enclosures
EV Batteries recycling overview
Automotive lithium-ion (and many hybrid NiMH) traction packs are not 12-volt starter batteries. Do not remove a pack yourself, put it in trash or curbside recycling, or drop it at Home Depot or Battery Network retail bins. Those bins are for portable rechargeables. Start with the dealer, OEM service, or a licensed auto dismantler, who ship packs to industrial recyclers such as Redwood Materials or Cirba-class processors. Damaged, flooded, or recalled packs need specialized DDR handling. Thermal coolants are antifreeze/HHW, not battery recycling. Empty aluminum or steel enclosures can go to scrap metal only after a pro removes the pack. BMS boards become e-waste after high-voltage isolation. California portable-battery EPR excludes motor vehicle batteries.
Common items
- • Full EV and PHEV lithium-ion battery packs
- • Hybrid NiMH traction packs (many older Prius and similar)
- • Battery modules and cell assemblies from packs
- • Battery management system (BMS) boards
- • Liquid cooling plates, pumps, and coolant loops
- • Aluminum or steel pack enclosures
- • E-bike and e-scooter packs (smaller; different retail channels)
Before drop-off
- 1. Do not remove or open a traction pack yourself. High voltage can kill
- 2. Call the dealer, OEM service, or a licensed dismantler for EOL, warranty, or salvage packs
- 3. For a flooded or severely damaged EV or hybrid, do not touch it or park/store it in a garage or within 50 feet of structures, vehicles, combustibles, or other people; contact the dealer and call 911 for sparks, smoke, flames, leaking, or bubbling
- 4. Do not ship a full automotive pack yourself as a consumer parcel
- 5. E-bike and tool packs use portable Li-ion drop-off; car packs do not
- 6. After professional removal, send coolant to antifreeze/HHW and empty housings to scrap metal
Environmental benefits
- • Keeps high-energy Li-ion packs out of trash trucks and landfills where they can ignite
- • Routes packs to industrial recyclers that recover lithium, nickel, cobalt, copper, and graphite
- • Separates glycol coolants onto antifreeze or HHW paths
- • Keeps flooded or wrecked packs in specialized DDR handling instead of scrapyard DIY
Practical and economic benefits
- • Dealer and OEM programs often handle removal when you replace or scrap the vehicle
- • Licensed dismantlers sell packs into recycler portals rather than paying landfill fees
- • Empty metal enclosures have scrap value after the pack is gone
- • Second-life stationary storage exists for some tested packs through OEM or industrial programs, not DIY
Local rules vary
There is no nationwide U.S. EPR for EV traction packs. California and Washington portable-battery laws generally exclude motor vehicle batteries. The consumer path is still a dealer, manufacturer, qualified shop, or licensed dismantler; the receiving handler determines the downstream recycler. Canada has a Call2Recycle EV Battery Recovery program that is not a U.S. retail locator.
Find ev batteries recycling centers
Search recycling centers by city or ZIP, then call ahead to confirm they take ev batteries.