Interconnected global supply chains make the issue a complex but solvable problem
Battery Council International (BCI) joins the International Lead Association (ILA) and the worldwide battery industry in condemning improper and unsafe recycling practices, and supporting efforts to raise standards around the world by sharing best-practices from leading facilities in North America and Europe.
The industry’s track record is clear: Battery manufacturers and recyclers have a long history of exceeding local regulations, and demonstrating industry-led commitment to worker and community protections. Furthermore, leading companies have committed time and financial resources to supporting underperforming facilities in lower-income countries. A tangible example of this effort is the Lead Battery 360° Certification program, which accepted its first cohort of eight participants in 2025.
BCI and its members condemn any entity willfully damaging the communities they serve. Further, we urge all regulatory authorities around the world to acknowledge their primary role in prevention and enforcement. While BCI members voluntarily meet industry-led standards, some of which are more stringent than local or regional laws, unscrupulous companies operate outside our membership and must be held to account by local regulators and competent authorities.
Through BCI members’ considerable efforts and unwavering commitment to understanding and controlling lead exposures, BCI has invested decades of time into sharing and developing world-leading programs. Since 1997, BCI battery manufacturing and recycler members have voluntarily implemented a highly effective program to achieve employee occupational health goals that are significantly more protective than those required by U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). This program was the first of its kind in the world and has since been joined by other trade associations and companies around the world.
BCI and its members also have supported NGOs and development stakeholders around the world working to improve practices in low and middle-income countries through knowledge sharing of operational best practices.
We have also worked with regulators to develop best practice documents, like the OSHA eTools for lead, which document best practice recommendations for facilities. These, and other best practice resources, are all available – at no cost – to stakeholders anywhere in the globe seeking to improve their practices.
BCI has been a strident opponent of sending scrap batteries to underperforming facilities in other countries, and has advocated for greater capacity in North America to ensure recycling takes place at best-in-class facilities in full compliance with the highest international standards.
Poor recycling practices are a complex problem in the age of interconnected global supply chains, but also a solvable one. The industry remains committed to working with governments, civil society, and other stakeholders to protect health and the environment.
The world does not have to choose between access to affordable, clean energy storage and best-in-class standards for health and safety. Both are possible together, and BCI and our members prove that.
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For more information, contact media@batterycouncil.org.
