Ebike battery recycling programs became universal in Europe, where e-bike use is more prevalent, but the infrastructure is missing in the United States. That will change in 2022, when PeopleForBikes, a bicycle trade association and advocacy organization, and Call2Recycle, a battery recycling nonprofit, launched an industry-wide electric bicycle battery recycling program, which both organizations claim is a first for uniting a transportation sector under one battery recycling solution.

Call2Recycle, which is backed by PeopleForBikes, manages the lithium-ion battery collection and recycling program, which includes supplying recycling kits, transportation and logistics, safety materials, and rider education.

The e-bike battery recycling program in the United States tries to address both of these problems by examining the whole lifespan of these vehicles and their batteries. "It's amazing to be able to get an e-bike on the road and lower emissions, but if you're not paying attention to what happens to the batteries at the end of life, you're going to wind up with heaps and mounds of batteries," says Leo Raudys, CEO of Call2Recycle.

Most recyclers can currently recover 75 to 80 percent of the materials from an e-bike battery, which means less raw materials must be removed. Raudys believes that in the next ten years, that percentage will be higher than 95 percent.

According to PeopleForBikes, around 840 retailers have enlisted, including those who converted from the Specialized Bicycles Components pilot program into the industry-wide initiative. Additionally, 84 retailers have enrolled as collecting locations, with more being added.What’s more, there was at least one e-bike battery collecting location in each of the 48 contiguous states as of Wednesday. Employees and bike mechanics will then be taught on how to properly collect and transport the batteries, and Call2Recycle and People for Bikes will inform users on how to recognize when their e-bike battery is nearing the end of its life and where to go to remove and recycle it.

"The passion and support for this initiative has been tremendous from the start, and we're seeing an increasing number of businesses approach out to join the program," said Ash Lovell, PeopleForBikes' e-bike policy and campaign director. "The number of collaborating brands exceeds our expectations for this phase of the initiative."

Lovell stated that the initiative is still looking for more firms to join.

"We need varied representation from manufacturers to ensure that this project is genuinely industry-wide. We created the program to be applicable to both direct-to-consumer firms and brands who deal with retailers across the country, so there should be something in it for everyone."Lovell added.