Allen County lands $1.7M grant to expand battery recycling
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The Allen County Department of Environmental Management is using a $1.7 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to expand battery recycling throughout the county.
In partnership with Purdue University Fort Wayne, the department is launching a public awareness campaign called Stop the Spark to educate residents on the best practices of battery safety.
The goal of the three-year effort is to reduce fire incidents caused by lithium-ion batteries, which can swell and catch fire.
“There’s a lot of dangers that come with batteries for both personal safety and home safety and the environment,” said Betsy Perry Patton, communications and outreach coordinator for the Allen County Department of Environmental Management. “So we hope to help educate the public about those dangers so they can be better prepared for how to manage those batteries when they come to the end of their life.”
The funding comes from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and Allen County was one of only seven counties nationwide to receive a grant.
Allen County has had 14 reported fires caused by improperly disposed lithium-ion batteries in 2024, and the department aims to reduce that number by at least 50% over the three-year project period.
Household batteries also contribute potentially hazardous compounds to the waste stream and pollute the earth, water and air, the department said. In addition to providing education on proper disposal, Patton said they want to educate residents on proper care for the batteries during their life cycle.
“I think so many people receive products or buy gadgets, and they don’t realize that lithium batteries often are in them,” she said. “Nobody’s reading the fine print on those tech gadgets that they get all the time. So really [it’s about] education on how to take care of those batteries during their life, and then what to do with them at the end of their life, how to properly dispose and recycle them.”
Allen County currently has eight collection points where people can bring their used batteries for recycling free of charge, and Patton said the grant will help build upon that.
The department is also working with Bin Chen, an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at Purdue Fort Wayne, who says the project could also provide training and research opportunities for dozens of students who will become battery ambassadors.
“The good thing about this project is that we can hire our students for the task, and I think it will benefit them a lot,” Chen said in written remarks. “We will have a good team of our students to support things such as going out and doing public education on how to properly dispose of batteries.”
In addition to educating residents, Stop the Spark will provide training to first responders and workers at hazardous waste facilities about properly managing old batteries.
In a news release, the Allen County Board of Commissioners praised the department for its work, saying the group is ahead of the curve in many areas.
“Their efforts with recycling and education keep hundreds of tons of waste out of our landfills and help maintain the natural resources of our county,” the board said. “The programming, education and recycling opportunities that will come about because of this prestigious grant will put Allen County on the forefront—in the state and in the county—for the care and decommissioning of lithium-ion batteries.”
Patton said the department plans to get the campaign up and running in early 2025 after the grant funds are officially dispersed.