Lithium-Ion Batteries in Curbside Recycling Cause 448+ MRF Fires Per Year, with Insurance Costs Rising 10-50x

Consumers improperly dispose of lithium-ion batteries — especially from disposable vapes and small electronics — into curbside recycling bins, where they get crushed during collection truck compaction or shredded at Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs), triggering thermal runaway, fires, and sometimes explosions. In 2024, publicly reported fires at MRFs and transfer stations in the US and Canada reached 448, a 20% increase over the prior year and the highest figure since tracking began. Why it matters: Lithium-ion batteries enter curbside recycling streams because consumers have no convenient alternative disposal path, so MRF sorting equipment crushes or punctures them during processing, so thermal runaway fires erupt — causing facility shutdowns, worker injuries, and millions in property damage, so MRF property insurance premiums have increased 10-50x (from $0.15-$0.18 to $1.80-$10.00 per $100 insured value), so smaller independent MRF operators cannot afford coverage and are forced to close, consolidating the recycling industry into fewer, larger players and reducing recycling access for rural communities. The structural root cause is that 1.2 billion disposable vapes enter waste streams annually with no mandated take-back program, battery identification technology at MRFs cannot keep pace with the volume and variety of lithium-ion-containing consumer products, and the U.S. lacks a federal law requiring producers of battery-containing devices to fund end-of-life collection infrastructure.