2025
Impact Report
Powering What's Next
Batteries are becoming increasingly essential to how we live, work, and move, creating new opportunities and new responsibilities for safe, sustainable end-of-life management.
In 2025, we expanded collection access, strengthened stewardship programs, advanced public education, and invested in innovative solutions to support the evolving battery landscape.
Together, we helped make battery recycling safer, more accessible, and more effective across the United States.
The Next Chapter: From Call2Recycle to The Battery Network
As we reflect on our accomplishments in 2025, we also recognize that the year represented an important milestone in our organization’s evolution. The growth, partnerships, and progress highlighted throughout this report helped lay the groundwork for our transition from Call2Recycle to The Battery Network in 2026—a name that better reflects the nationwide system we have built to support battery collection, stewardship, safety, and recycling.
In Honor of William (Chip) Wildes, Jr.
Founding Board Member
William “Chip” Wildes, Jr., a founding board member, helped shape The Battery Network from its earliest days. Serving from 1994 until his passing in 2025, he brought exceptional leadership, integrity, and environmental expertise to the organization, including a term as co-CEO. His contributions helped advance battery recycling in the United States and supported the recycling of more than 165 million pounds of batteries and battery materials. His legacy continues to inspire our work today.
Leading
the Charge,
together.
Year of Impact
9.3M+
total pounds of batteries collected
3K+
new collection sites
80%
of U.S. population within 15 miles of a collection site
30+
new stewards
The Work Behind the Impact
Stewardship
Collections
Education
Solutions
Innovation
In 2025, we expanded our reach, strengthened our programs, and continued to make battery recycling more accessible and more efficient across the country.
Guided by our five brand pillars, we made measurable progress in building a safer and more connected battery recycling network through expanded collection access, stewardship programs, education, practical solutions, and industry innovation.
Stewardship
Powering compliance. Driven by purpose.
We support manufacturers in meeting evolving regulatory requirements while advancing safe, compliant battery recycling nationwide.
Momentum for Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) continued to build in 2025 as states expanded battery stewardship legislation and prepared for future program implementation. The Battery Network worked alongside manufacturers, regulators, and partners to support planning efforts and help ensure new programs launch with consistency, transparency, and compliance.
2025 Legislation
As new regulations took shape, we helped Stewards navigate complexity with confidence, providing the reporting, compliance support, and program infrastructure needed to meet state requirements.
Collections
Expanding access. Increasing impact.
Collections are a vital part of our nationwide network, making battery recycling easy and accessible.
We continued to scale across multiple channels, including retail drop-off, mail-back services, and customized takeback programs designed for partners with high-volume or specialized battery recycling needs.
Education
Building awareness. Driving safer behavior.
Education plays a critical role in advancing safe battery recycling. Throughout 2025, we expanded awareness efforts that helped consumers, businesses, and communities better understand battery safety, proper handling, and responsible disposal and recycling.
Key initiatives included:
- Continued growth of the Avoid the Spark campaign, promoting safer battery disposal and recycling habits.
- Community initiatives such as Battery Blitz, bringing battery safety education directly to schools and local organizations.
- New partnerships and collection events with National Waste & Recycling Association (NWRA) and Woodsy Owl that combine hands-on recycling opportunities with public education and outreach.
Yesterday's
Batteries.
Tomorrow's
Power.
Solutions
Built for safety. Designed to scale.
Innovation remained a priority in 2025 as we introduced new solutions and enhancements that improved safety, increased operational efficiency, and expanded flexibility for partners managing batteries across diverse applications and industries.
OneDrum™
Named Battery Safety Technology of the Year at The Battery Show in 2025 with 26% shipment growth
Safety Solutions
Record adoption of LIBIKs to support the safe handling of lithium-ion batteries
Battery Incident Support Program
Significant expansion, supporting more cleanup and response efforts than in 2024
Innovation
Advancing what comes next.
As battery technology evolves, so do the challenges—and opportunities—of responsible recycling. That’s why we continued to invest in solutions for emerging waste streams, including e-bike, EV, and high-energy batteries throughout 2025.
E-Bike Program
Our e-bike program alone collected 50,000 pounds of batteries, a 14% increase year over year, while expanding to over 2,400 collection sites nationwide.
High Energy Battery Program
At the same time, our high energy battery program continued to grow with more than 60,000 pounds collected and an expanding network of 1,800+ fully trained collection sites.
EV Program
Our EV battery initiatives continued to grow building the partnerships, infrastructure, and expertise needed to support this rapidly growing and complex waste stream.
The work underway today is helping ensure the infrastructure is ready for the next generation of battery technologies.
Powering
what's next,
together.
The impact of battery recycling extends far beyond the pounds collected each year. It is measured in safer communities, recovered resources, and a stronger, more sustainable future.
Thank you to everyone who contributes to this effort. Together, we are making responsible battery management possible.