NEVADA CITY, Calif. September 18, 2024 – The Rotary Club of Nevada City is excited to announce the details of their 3rd annual three “R” event to collect, recycle and repurpose rechargeable lithium-ion batteries and devices on September 21 in partnership with Redwood Materials at the Rood Center in Nevada City. “Rotary is on a mission to collect as many of these old products as possible to sustainably recycle, refine, recover and remanufacture these batteries here in America,” said Dr. Christine Newsom, the Club’s Environmental Sustainability Chair. “Nevada City Rotary Club members and volunteers are excited to partner again with Redwood Materials to do their part to save our planet,” she continued.
The public can drive-up and drop-off lithium-ion rechargeable devices and batteries for recycling by Redwood Materials, a company that uses the recycled metals to make new rechargeable batteries. Eligible items for collection include cellphones, tablets, laptops, electric toothbrushes, e-shavers, vapes, wireless headphones, Bluetooth speakers, power tool batteries, video game controllers, among others. This is NOT an electronic (e-waste) collection event. How to tell the difference? If the item has an electric cord, that’s e-waste, not a recyclable battery item.
All lithium-ion batteries are made up of varying amounts of metals like cobalt, copper, nickel and lithium. Smart phones, laptops and electric vehicles all have batteries made of these same metals. If we recover materials from old, end-of-life products, which can be sustainably broken down to their raw materials, this process significantly decreases society’s reliance on newly mined metals. The problem is few pathways exist today responsibly recycle these old products. “Experts say that one of the largest lithium and cobalt mines inthe western hemisphere can be found in the junk drawers of Americans,” continued Dr. Newsom. “Nevada City Rotary and Redwood Materials want to make it as easy to recycle as driving up and dropping off.”
It’s not necessary to extract the battery from the device; just bring the entire product to be recycled. The recovery of the essential metals will help ensure the security of American supply chains for electric vehicle batteries and clean energy products.
EVENT DETAILS:
Saturday, September 21, 2024
10 am – 2 pm
Nevada County Government Center (Rood Center)
950 Maidu Ave.
Nevada City, CA 95959
For inquiries related to this release, please contact news@NCRotary.org. For more information about Nevada City Rotary, membership or volunteer opportunities, please visit www.nevadacityrotary.org. Get social with us: https://www.facebook.com/NCRotary/.
The Rotary Club of Nevada City was chartered October 3, 1935. These Rotarians exemplify a commitment to Rotary’s motto “service above self” through youth and community service providing leadership, volunteers, scholarships and grants locally and internationally. Members include business and civic leaders in Nevada City and Nevada County. The Club partners with many non-profit organizations, businesses, and agencies on a host of youth and community service initiatives. The Nevada City Club has distinguished itself through its actions protecting the environment, supporting the well-being of our community, and developing the next generation of leadership. Rotary was founded by Paul Harris in 1905 in Chicago and has spread throughout the world with over 1.4 million Rotarians in more than 200 countries. Leadership of Rotary International has brought the world to the verge of the end of polio globally. Over the last 100 years, The Rotary Foundation has funded more than $4 billion on life-changing, sustainable projects through grants worldwide.