The Race To Crack Battery Recycling—Before It’s Too Late

 Millions of EVs will soon hit the road, but the world isn’t ready for their old batteries. A crop of startups wants to crack this billion-dollar problem.......

Every day, millions of lithium-ion batteries roll off the line at Tesla’s Gigafactory in Sparks, Nevada. These cells, produced on site by Panasonic, are destined to be bundled together by the thousands in the battery packs of new Teslas. But not all the batteries are cut out for a life on the road. Panasonic ships truckloads of cells that don’t pass their qualification tests to a facility in Carson City, about a half hour’s drive south. This is the home of Redwood Materials, a small company founded in 2017 with an ambition to become the anti-Gigafactory, a place where batteries are cooked down into raw materials that will serve as the grist for new cells.

Redwood is part of a wave of new startups racing to solve a problem that doesn’t really exist yet: How to recycle the mountains of batteries from electric vehicles that are past their prime. Over the past decade, the world’s lithium-ion production capacity has increased tenfold to meet the growing demand for EVs. Now vehicles from that first production wave are just beginning to reach the end of their lifespan. This marks the beginning of a tsunami of spent batteries, which will only get worse as more electric cars hit the road. The International Energy Agency predicts an 800 percent increase in the number of EVs over the next decade, each car packed with thousands of cells. The dirty secret of the EV revolution is that it created an e-waste timebomb—and cracking lithium-ion recycling is the only way to defuse it.

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City official jailed over the use of contaminated building materials reused inFairfield Conn.

 4 Arrested in Investigation Into Use of Contaminated Construction Materials in Fairfield

Published Nov 19, 2020 at 11:48 PM

Four people were arrested as an investigation into the mismanagement of contaminants at a Fairfield fill pile continues.

The arrests come as a part of the investigation into Julian Development on the city’s Department of Public Works property, which started in 2017, police said. Julian Development is a construction material processing facility.

The investigation revealed that Julian Development had dumped and allowed dumping of a large volume of material on the Department of Public Works’ site. Some of this material contained PCBs, lead, and other contaminants, according to police. The material required remediation to a licensed hazardous waste facility, which cost the town about $280,000.

Julian Development was ultimately removed from the site and charged, as were other town officials, following the incident, police said.

The following four individuals were arrested:

Emmet Hibson – Former Human Resources Director for the Town of Fairfield

Scott Bartlett – Former Superintendent for the Department of Public Works

Robert Grabarek – LEP for Osprey Environmental Engineering

Brian Carey – Interim Director of Department of Public Works and Conservation Director for the Town 

All four individuals were arrested on either Nov. 18 or 19. They all face illegal disposal of PCBs and conspiracy to commit illegal disposal of PCBs charges.

Investigators determined that these town officials had material tested and the test results showed that the material contained various levels of PCBs. They then authorized the use of PCB-contaminated material, according to police.

Bartlett and Carey face additional charges of receiving sold waste without a permit, illegal disposal of solid waste, and conspiracy to dispose of solid waste without a permit.

In 2017, police learned that town officials planned to dispose of the remaining material left by Julian Development on the site. Town officials and a representative of Osprey Environmental Engineering planned to create a berm on the perimeter of the site, which created another expense for the town.

Investigators later determined that these officials knew there were PCBs in the material which was used to construct the berm. The cost of remediation of the contaminated material on the site is $5 to $10 million, according to the current town attorney.

In July of 2019, several other town officials were arrested and charged with multiple illegal dumping charges as well as larceny and forgery charges, police said.

In August of 2019, more than a dozen Fairfield town field and park sites were closed for environmental testing over contamination concerns.

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Emergency Response in Norwalk CA oil and fuel dumped

Here's a general outline of what an emergency response and cleanup process for an oil or fuel spill might look like:

1. Initial Response

• Notification: As soon as a spill is identified, local authorities (such as the Los Angeles County Fire Department or California Department of Fish and Wildlife) are notified. The company responsible for the spill or the property owner typically alerts local environmental agencies.
• Assessment: Emergency responders will assess the size and scope of the spill, including any risks to the surrounding environment (e.g., water bodies, soil contamination) or public health.
• Containment: The immediate priority is to contain the spill to prevent it from spreading further. This might involve setting up barriers or using absorbent materials to stop the flow of oil or fuel.

2. Cleanup Process

• Removal: Special equipment, such as vacuum trucks, booms, and absorbent mats, will be used to remove the oil or fuel from the affected area. In some cases, high-pressure water or mechanical devices might be used to break up the spill for easier cleanup.
• Waste Disposal: After the spill is cleaned up, the contaminated materials (oil, fuel, absorbent materials) must be disposed of in compliance with environmental regulations. This is where companies like EwasteDisposal Inc. might play a role, particularly if they also handle hazardous waste disposal or recycling services, although they primarily focus on electronic waste.
• Decontamination: The cleanup may involve decontaminating the soil, water, or surface affected by the spill. This could include soil removal or the application of chemical agents that neutralize the contaminants.

3. Environmental Restoration

• Monitoring: Ongoing monitoring might be necessary to ensure that there are no lingering environmental impacts, such as groundwater contamination or long-term soil damage.
• Reporting: A report is typically filed with regulatory agencies, outlining the cause of the spill, the extent of the damage, the cleanup efforts, and any further actions required.

4. Prevention & Future Measures

• Preventative Measures: Depending on the scale of the incident, measures may be put in place to prevent future spills, such as better containment systems or regular maintenance checks.
• Community Impact: If the spill affected local residents or businesses, there may be public notifications or even compensation efforts to mitigate damage.

EwasteDisposal Inc.'s Role

If EwasteDisposal Inc. was involved in the cleanup, it’s likely that their expertise in handling hazardous materials, waste disposal, and environmental services extended to managing the oil or fuel spill. They would need the proper certifications, equipment, and experience in hazardous waste management, which includes not only e-waste but potentially other environmental hazards like oil, fuel, and chemicals.

For more specific details about their involvement in this particular cleanup, it would be helpful to contact EwasteDisposal Inc. directly or check with local news outlets and regulatory bodies for any public reports on the incident.

Let me know if you need more specific information

 

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