The Oregon Legislature has approved a bill creating a statewide battery recycling program funded by battery producers, aiming to reduce fires caused by improperly discarded lithium batteries and improve recycling systems. The legislation, Oregon House Bill 4144, requires companies that make certain batteries or battery-powered products to participate in a producer responsibility organization that will fund and manage a statewide network for collecting and recycling used batteries.
Supporters say the program will shift recycling costs from local governments and ratepayers to manufacturers while helping recover valuable materials contained in batteries. 鈥淭his bill addresses a growing public safety issue caused by lithium batteries entering our waste system,鈥� said Emerson Levy, a Democrat representing Central Oregon.
Levy said discarded batteries have sparked fires in garbage trucks, transfer stations and landfills that endanger workers and damage facilities. In Deschutes County alone, officials recorded 54 fires last year linked to battery disposal, Levy said. Over the past decade, officials say Oregon has seen a sharp increase in battery-related fires at recycling centers and solid waste facilities.