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New Department of Transportation Rules Impact Lithium-Ion Cell-Phone Battery Recycling
DEXTER, Mich., Oct. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- New Federal Department of Transportation Hazardous Materials Regulations covering lithium-ion batteries -- which take effect today -- will impact both the cell-phone recycling industry and consumers who want to ship their wireless handsets for recycling.
ReCellular, Inc., is making changes to its own practices to comply with the regulations, and is introducing new information that will help consumers and ReCellular's partners comply as well.
"The Department of Transportation wanted to address potential safety hazards of shipping large quantities of lithium-ion batteries," says Brandi Farwig, ReCellular Environmental Manager. "Accordingly, the majority of the changes only apply to commercial shipments, but some of the changes will also impact consumers sending small numbers of phones for recycling."
Rechargeable lithium-ion batteries are used in many devices, such as cell phones, computers and cameras. Even though they are more costly than alkaline batteries, lithium cells provide a much longer operating life. However, lithium batteries can provide extremely high currents and can discharge very rapidly when short-circuited. A short-circuit can release the electric charge quickly enough to potentially set fire to surrounding materials.
Accordingly, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) recently issued a new regulation that requires that lithium-ion batteries either be shipped in their original equipment, or have tape over the terminal connections to help prevent short-circuits. In addition, the DOT requires packages containing lithium batteries to be properly marked and labeled.
Accordingly, all ReCellular packaging will have the following label: PACKAGE CONTAINS LITHIUM-ION BATTERIES (NO LITHIUM METAL) Maximum of 3 batteries per envelope. Keep battery attached to phone. If battery is not attached to phone, place tape over terminal ends.
ReCellular recycles an average of 14,000 pounds of lithium-ion batteries every month, which are stored and shipped in 55-gallon steel drums in accordance with existing DOT rules. Updated shipping labels and documentation will be required by the new regulations. To assist their recycling partners, ReCellular will update their Website (http://www.recellular.com/) with information detailing the required changes to commercial shipments.
For more information, please visit http://www.recellular.com/, or call 800-441-1544.
About ReCellular Inc.:
With offices in the United States, Hong Kong, and Brazil, ReCellular Inc. is the world's leading electronics-sustainability firm. We provide solutions for the collection, reuse and recycling of used personal electronics that generate financial return for our partners, quality products for our customers, funding for charity organizations, and protection of the environment. Corporate, charitable, consumer and wholesale information is available at http://www.recellular.com/.
ReCellular, Inc.
CONTACT: Monte Doran, +1-248-644-0800, ext. 255, mdoran@clearblue.biz,for ReCellular, Inc.; or Angela Beaubien of ReCellular, Inc., +1-734-205-2207,abeaubien@recellular.com
Web site: http://www.recellular.com/
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