Recycling of lithium-ion batteries is increasingly being framed as a critical climate solution, but to get there strong transparency and accountability standards are needed. Without them, potential new environmental health harms could emerge, according to a new report from Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA).

Because batteries are playing a crucial role in the transition to renewable energy — wind and solar in particular — demand for lithium-ion batteries for the electricity grid is rising rapidly and, naturally, the demand for critical minerals like lithium.

Recycling these batteries involves multiple hazards across multiple stages of operation like:

• Transportation
• Storage
• Pre-treatment
• Thermal processing
• Hydrometallurgical recovery

According to GAIA, these recycling processes use acids, solvents and fluorinated compounds; require significant water inputs; and create a fire and explosion risk. They can also generate fine particulate matter containing battery metals like lithium, copper, cobalt, nickel and manganese.

Why transparency and legislation are needed

According to GAIA, there have been fire incidents at battery facilities that resulted in the release of toxic gas and contaminated soil and waterways around these facilities.

The organization said that lithium-ion loop battery recycling facilities do not report Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) data, Clean Air Act (CAA) records or Clean Water Act (CWA) discharge data. This lack of reporting and standardization makes it difficult to verify actual material recovery or to assess recycling effectiveness, GAIA said. Without publicly accessible information, there is no way to distinguish responsible operators from those more at risk.

Currently, lithium-ion recycling facilities operate under state-issued permits that are structured around discrete emissions thresholds and do not capture cumulative, low-level or emerging risks. The existing regulatory framework is not designed to capture the full environmental and public health scope, GAIA said.

Moss Landing fire

On January 16, 2025, a battery energy storage system at the Vistra plant in Moss Landing, California, caught fire. Crews put it out. A month later, it reignited. Over 1,000 residents were evacuated. Others got emergency alerts telling them to stay indoors.

However, researchers later found that roughly 25 metric tons of nickel, manganese and cobalt from burned battery cathodes were scattered across nearby wetlands, including Elkhorn Slough, one of the most ecologically significant estuaries on the West Coast. Some residents reported health issues after the fire. Metals turned up in the water and soil. A lawsuit followed.

That information came from outside researchers and affected residents testing on their own, not from proactive disclosure.

And Moss Landing is one of many fires. The EPA has documented 245 fires linked to lithium batteries at 64 waste facilities across 28 states between 2013 and 2020.

With billions in investment in new recycling and storage capacity, GAIA said the standard response is to find out what was released after a fire happens. Transparency and regulation would improve the situation, the organization added.

Read the full report from GAIA entitled: Risks of Lithium-Ion Battery Facilities to Workers and Communities in Reno, Nevada: A Case Study Supporting Community Right-to-Know