Call2Recycle has reintroduced itself as The Battery Network, signaling a strategic shift from a collection-focused nonprofit to what it describes as a nationwide infrastructure platform for battery recovery and compliance.
The rebrand reflects a broader reality facing the US battery ecosystem. Battery demand is rising faster than domestic recycling capacity, while regulatory pressure is increasing at the state level through Extended Producer Responsibility requirements. Call2Recycle’s claim of 30 years as North America’s longest running battery recycling program positions the organization as an incumbent at a moment when scale, logistics, and regulatory coordination are becoming as critical as collection itself.
According to the organization, The Battery Network currently operates more than 20,000 collection sites across the United States, including partnerships with large retailers such as Best Buy, Home Depot, and Lowe’s. It reports that 80 percent of Americans live within 15 miles of a drop off location, a metric that highlights accessibility but does not address participation rates or recovery efficiency, two persistent challenges in consumer battery recycling. Convenience alone has not historically translated into high return rates, particularly for small format lithium batteries embedded in devices.
The organization says it safely collects and recycles millions of pounds of batteries annually. While the figure signals scale, it also underscores the widening gap between battery consumption and end of life processing. EV battery deployment alone is expected to significantly increase battery mass entering waste streams over the coming decade, raising questions about whether existing infrastructure can absorb future volumes without substantial investment in downstream processing and material recovery.
Fire risk mitigation is emerging as a central driver of battery recycling policy, and The Battery Network has placed safety at the core of its messaging. Improperly discarded lithium ion batteries are a leading cause of fires at material recovery facilities, transfer stations, and landfills. Each battery diverted from general waste reduces that risk, but effective prevention depends on consumer behavior, retailer enforcement, and consistent education, areas where outcomes vary widely by region.
Beyond collection, The Battery Network is positioning itself as a compliance and logistics partner for manufacturers and retailers navigating fragmented state legislation. As battery recycling laws accelerate state by state, compliance complexity has become a material cost for producers. Centralized systems that manage reporting, transport, and certified recycling offer operational efficiency, but they also concentrate responsibility in a limited number of intermediaries, raising questions about transparency and oversight as volumes grow.
Material recovery remains the strategic prize. Lithium, cobalt, and nickel are repeatedly cited as critical to US energy security, yet domestic recovery rates remain modest relative to demand growth. While The Battery Network emphasizes its role in keeping materials in circulation, the actual contribution of consumer battery recycling to domestic critical mineral supply is still constrained by collection rates, battery chemistry diversity, and processing economics.
The rebrand, developed with Pentagram, reframes the organization as a connector across the battery lifecycle rather than a downstream waste solution. This positioning aligns with the industry’s shift toward circular energy narratives, but execution will be measured less by visual identity and more by measurable gains in recovery rates, safety outcomes, and regulatory consistency.
