Batteries can give landfill operators the recycling blues.

Toys, greeting cards, disposable earbuds, vape pens and the usual suspects have batteries. Lithium batteries can be like kindling for fires, contributing to some 5,000 landfill fires nationwide a year. Batteries can contribute to releasing chemicals into the environment. And lithium should be recycled to protect the supply.

But what do people do with batteries? Toss them in the trash.

They may not know how or where to recycle them. Less than one in six rechargeable batteries are recycled.

Eleven other states have what are called “extended primary responsibility” laws for batteries. Vermont was the first in 2014. Oregon has those kind of laws for things such as paint and a coming program for mattresses.

In that type of law, the manufacturer has to help support the long-term costs of their products by helping to financially support recycling. New Jersey even included electric and hybrid car batteries in their law earlier this year. Other states may follow New Jersey.

Should Oregon be next?

Lane County is trying to get other counties to join forces through the Association of Oregon Counties and back such a recycling law in Oregon for the 2025 legislative session.

It’s certainly worth the Legislature discussing it. Should Deschutes County commissioners encourage the Association of Oregon Counties to lobby the Legislature for such a law? We think so. What do you think?

The Deschutes County Commission is scheduled to talk about it this week.