Contrary to what most people think, newspapers, glass or aluminum cans are not America’s most recycled consumer product. Lead batteries hold the honor at a whopping 99.3 percent, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

To celebrate annual America Recycles Day 2018 on November 15, the lead battery industry is proudly sharing the impressive sustainability story of lead batteries. Their near-perfect recycling rate far surpasses that of other products (newspapers, in second place, at about 68 percent) and other battery technologies used in transportation and energy storage, such as lithium-ion batteries (estimated at less than 5 percent).

Learn more about the lead battery recycling success story at Essential Energy Everyday.

Why Lead Batteries Reign in Recycling

“A number of factors keep 1.7 million tons of lead batteries out of landfills annually and make lead batteries the most sustainable battery chemistry in the marketplace,” said Kevin Moran, executive vice president of Battery Council International (BCI). “Foremost, is that lead is infinitely recyclable. The lead industry has invested in a nation-wide system that creates a circular economy for lead and other lead-battery components (plastic and acid). Today, a new lead battery consists of over 80 percent recycled lead.”

“We’re proud of the industry’s state-of-the-art closed-loop collection and recycling system. It’s a perfect example of a circular economy. Rather than make-use-dispose, we’re able to recover all elements of the battery and reuse them repeatedly, keeping them in use for as long as possible,” Moran said.

The Doe Run Company is a proud member of BCI.