My Boomer Dad Swears That Old EV Batteries Just Sit in Landfills Leaking Toxic Stuff, and I Think They Are Supposed to Be Recyclable or Reused Somehow, What I Found Out Is Pretty Cool

Electric vehicle sales surged past 10% of all new cars sales in the U.S. this year. This is a huge milestone considering that they were less than 1% in 2015. It has created a popular topic on automotive social media about what will happen to EV batteries once the cars reach end of life. Here’s a recent post with a ton of comments from the r/Environmentalism subreddit:

“We’re all trying to be more eco-friendly, what actually happens to EV batteries once they’re “dead”? My dad swears they just sit in landfills leaking toxic stuff (very boomer take LOL), but I thought they were supposed to be recyclable or reused somehow?

I love the idea of switching to electric for the planet, but if these massive batteries just end up polluting somewhere else, isn’t that defeating the purpose?”

Belichick12 quickly responded with an informed comment:

“Your small rechargeable hand drill battery might go to the landfill if you’re careless.

An EV battery is 99%+ being recycled.

It’s worth money. Companies like redwood materials bid on these batteries and pay good money.

Businesses must follow environmental regulations and they’re not getting away with dumping hazardous waste at a landfill.”

Social Media Confusion About EV Battery Recycling

While Belichick12’s Reddit post is correct, many social media discussions about EV battery recycling jump between extremes. Some users worry that old batteries will overwhelm landfills, while others assume recycling is already perfect. The truth sits somewhere in the middle. Industry is now capable of recovering more than 90 percent of the valuable metals from EV batteries. There is also time to scale these capabilities because high volume EV battery production only recently took off. Most of today’s lithium-ion packs will not reach end of life for another five to ten years.

Why Recycling Matters

Recycling EV batteries plays a major role in waste reduction, cost control, national security, energy savings, and environmental protection. Metals like copper and aluminum already have strong recycling histories. More than 80% of the copper ever mined and roughly 75% of aluminum remain in use today. These materials keep their properties after recycling and require much less energy to process than newly mined materials. Lithium-ion batteries also contain valuable metals including lithium, cobalt, and nickel, which makes recycling appealing. The challenge is that the chemical nature of battery materials makes them harder to separate, which is why specialized processes are required to recover them effectively.

How EV Batteries Are Recycled

The recycling process begins with discharging batteries to neutralize any remaining energy. Workers then disassemble and shred the packs. From there, facilities typically use pyrometallurgy or hydrometallurgy. Pyrometallurgy uses high heat to smelt batteries and recover metals such as copper, cobalt, and nickel. Many lighter or more volatile materials including lithium, aluminum, graphite, and plastics are lost. This method is scalable and well established. It is also energy intensive and can create emissions that require careful handling.

The newer, more modern hydrometallurgy technique takes a different approach. It relies on water based chemical solutions to dissolve crushed battery material known as black mass. Operators then separate metals using techniques such as solvent extraction, ion exchange, and pH adjustment. These steps allow recyclers to recover metal compounds with high purity. Hydrometallurgy can retrieve nearly all valuable metals including lithium while using less energy than pyrometallurgy. It does introduce more chemical waste and requires careful control and specialized equipment.

Economic Realities of Recycling

Hydrometallurgy delivers excellent recovery rates, although it typically costs more to operate and takes longer to process material. Some recyclers achieve more than 95% recovery of cobalt, nickel, lithium, and manganese. The business case for recycling depends heavily on the value of the recovered materials. A ton of black mass can contain thousands of dollars’ worth of cobalt and nickel, while other materials have far lower value. Profitability depends on both market prices and the underlying battery chemistry.

Impact of Changing Battery Chemistries

The rise of lithium iron phosphate batteries introduces new economic pressure. These batteries contain no cobalt or nickel, which lowers the value of black mass. They are cheaper to produce, although not easier or cheaper to recycle. Newer technologies such as solid-state batteries may shift the economics again. Solid state designs replace graphite with lithium metal anodes, which improves recyclability and increases the value of recovered material. Evolving chemistries will continue to influence recycling economics over time.

Government Policies and the Growing Need for Infrastructure

The large-scale need for battery recycling will not fully emerge for about a decade, as most EV batteries have long lifespans. Governments are investing early to prepare. Europe will require battery passports beginning in 2026 to track life cycles and enforce recycling requirements. Effective recycling can reduce demand for virgin minerals by roughly 30%. This strengthens national resource security, especially for countries with limited domestic mineral supplies. Policy support signals that recycling has become an environmental priority and a strategic one.

Real World Recycling Leaders

Several companies already demonstrate what advanced recycling can achieve. In Germany, Duesenfeld GmbH uses a multi-step hydrometallurgical process designed to maximize resource recovery while minimizing CO₂ emissions. The company discharges batteries, dismantles them, and shreds them under nitrogen to prevent fires. The resulting black mass is dried and processed through a hydrometallurgical system that safely removes fluorides and separates lithium, cobalt, nickel, manganese, graphite, copper, aluminum, and solvents. This produces battery grade materials with recovery of about 91% and no hazardous emissions. Volkswagen partnered with Duesenfeld to develop production scale EV battery recycling.

The United States has several major players as well. Redwood Materials in Nevada partners with Ford, Volkswagen, BMW, Toyota, and GM. Li Cycle operates in New York and Arizona and uses a hub and spoke model that supports numerous automakers and battery manufacturers. Ascend Elements in Massachusetts works with Honda and specializes in advanced hydrometallurgical processes.

Bottom Line

EV battery recycling is becoming a critical part of the clean energy transition. The science is advancing rapidly, recovery rates are improving, and more companies are entering the space. The biggest wave of end-of-life batteries is still years away, which gives industry time to expand capacity and refine processes. With evolving chemistries, strong policy support, and proven technology leaders, the future of battery recycling looks promising.

What Do You Think?

What have you heard from friends or family about what happens to EV batteries at end of life?

Which part of EV battery recycling surprises you the most, the metal recovery rates or how new the industry still is?

Chris Johnston is the author of SAE’s comprehensive book on electric vehicles, "The Arrival of The Electric Car." His coverage on Torque News focuses on electric vehicles. Chris has decades of product management experience in telematics, mobile computing, and wireless communications. Chris has a B.S. in electrical engineering from Purdue University and an MBA. He lives in Seattle. When not working, Chris enjoys restoring classic wooden boats, open water swimming, cycling and flying (as a private pilot). You can connect with Chris on LinkedIn and follow his work on X at ChrisJohnstonEV.

Photo credit: Provided by the author