Please use this opportunity to recycle your old unwanted and dead lithium ion batteries. Did you know? The precious metal atoms can be recycled infinitely because the metal atoms do not change or degrade. Recycling lithium ion batteries will prevent more mining for these metals, especially in Africa!
Event will be held at Bellevue Downtown Park and there are various other drop-off locations. Learn more about this effort at the event website. Contact Erv Desmet at desmeterv@gmail.com from Woodinville Rotary for more details. Erv will also transport items if you get them to him prior to the event.
Here’s more details about this important event.
On April 20, this year’s Earth Day, our Rotary District will collect lithium-ion batteries for recycling. Recycling these batteries, which contain many precious metals, will prevent the need for mining for these metals. Such mining is unnecessary because the most significant existing mine for these precious metals is in our garages and other places where we have products that contain these batteries.
Popular rechargeable items to bring to this recycling event are cell phones, laptops, tablets, electric toothbrushes, wireless headphones, and power tool batteries. You may bring the entire item if it is difficult to remove the battery. Any remaining data will be safeguarded and destroyed.
Our partner in this recycling event is Redwood Materials, a company in Nevada owned by the co-founder of Tesla. This company has partnered very successfully with Rotary clubs in California to conduct recycling events like the one we are planning. I strongly suggest that you Google “Redwood Materials” and then click on ‘Redwood Materials/circular supply chain for lithium-ion.” This is an excellent video. Then read “news” about Redwood and Rotary creating recycling pathways for lithium-ion batteries and consumer devices.
The City of Bellevue has approved the Bellevue Downtown Park location for this recycling event. So please start collecting your batteries. Each club can find the best way to bring the items to the collection site. One club member may collect the batteries and bring them all to the collection site.
Our district Interactors will be helping on-site at this Earth Day event, and they deserve a healthy environment here on earth. So let’s make this recycling event a big success for all the right reasons.
This is an extremely important event, and I will be available to answer all your questions.
My cell phone number is 425 829-0759 and email is desmeterv@gmail.com.
Erv DeSmet, past-chair
District 5030 Environmental Sustainability Committee
