State regulators described permit and documentation issues related to an alkaline battery processing line. | Kinek00/Shutterstock
Washington state regulators this month announced an enforcement action against longtime processor Total Reclaim, stemming from battery processing violations observed during a 2023 inspection.
The state Department of Ecology on Jan. 16 announced a $33,000 penalty on the Kent, Washington-based company for “numerous violations of the state’s dangerous waste regulations.” The violations, which Total Reclaim acknowledged in the same announcement, primarily involved failures to secure proper permitting and documentation.
According to the release, during an August 2023 visit, inspectors from the Ecology department found “an unpermitted battery recycling operation that lacked regular inspections, adequate staff training, and approved closure plans.”
They also found evidence of “improper shipment of the material reclaimed from the battery recycling to an out-of-state manufacturer without required documentation or notification of the receiving state’s environmental agency.” Finally, they said the company was accepting and processing devices that contained nicotine, “a type of dangerous waste the facility was not permitted to handle.”
Besides its Kent location, Total Reclaim operates e-scrap processing facilities in Spokane, Washington; Portland, Oregon; and Anchorage, Alaska. The company received national attention several years ago when its former owners were prosecuted for illegally exporting e-scrap overseas, among other charges.
In a statement included in the Ecology release, CEO Bobby Farris said that once his company learned aspects of its battery recycling system were in violation of state regulations, the company “took immediate steps to address Ecology’s concerns. (Total Reclaim) is committed to meeting the increasing need for responsible battery recycling and is working closely with the Department of Ecology to ensure that its battery recycling system is compliant and approved to operate in the state of Washington.”
Farris told E-Scrap News the issues were related to the facility’s alkaline battery processing line, a material stream the company began expanding into in 2022. He declined to comment further, noting the company was still working with the state agency on finalizing its approval to start the processing line back up.
The state agency confirmed Total Reclaim suspended the battery line after that initial inspection and that the company is working with the agency to start it up in compliance with the regulations.