Batteries Plus, the nation’s leading specialty battery retailer, has officially announced a new partnership with the NFL team, Green Bay Packers, to launch a comprehensive battery recycling initiative. Backed by US Department of Energy, the stated initiative will involve implementation of highly visible recycling stations at Wisconsin Batteries Plus locations, coming along with an interactive booth at Lambeau Field (Packers’ home stadium) that will showcase and educate consumers on how to properly recycle batteries. More on the interactive booth will reveal the plans to install it at select Packers games this season, including the preseason Family Night and games against the Minnesota Vikings and Arizona Cardinals. Markedly enough, attendees here can also enter to win exclusive Packers experiences and prizes. Anyway, Batteries Plus will further bank upon its preferred recycling partner for 14 years in Cirba Solutions to facilitate the recycling process, thus encouraging fans to visit local Batteries Plus store for the purpose of recycling their old and used batteries. In a similar effort, Batteries Plus is also set to launch multiple recycling contests with local schools. To incentivize winners of these contests, the company will provide an exclusive Lambeau Field experience.
The development in question delivers a rather interesting follow-up to a $7 million grant that Batteries Plus got from the US Department of Energy last month. This grant, in case you weren’t aware, will go towards setting up portable consumer battery recycling drop-offs at their stores. Working to achieve a goal of eliminating the substantial costs associated with recycling batteries, both Batteries Plus and Department of Energy also hope to, in the longer term, educate consumers regarding lithium battery recycling on a national scale, and they will do so in each community where the brand operates, with a greater focus on Justice40 communities.
“This grant is a pivotal step in our mission to make battery recycling accessible and mainstream,” said Scott Williams, CEO of Batteries Plus. “By eliminating recycling fees at our stores and developing advanced recycling workstations, we’re removing barriers and making it easier for consumers to do their part in preserving both our natural resources and the strength of our domestic supply chain. We’re excited to partner with the Department of Energy and the Green Bay Packers to bring this important message to a wider audience.”
Coming back to the partnership in question, we now must get into what deems the two organizations as ideal candidates to lead such an effort. Beginning from Green Bay Packers, as the most successful team in NFL history and staunchly community-supported organization, the football side is expected to help Batteries Plus tap into a much bigger audience, The promise of a better reach can be contextualized once you take into account that the team has won Super Bowl on four different occasions. To go along with that, the Packers also have 28 individuals inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, a total that is second among all teams. Another detail worth a mention is rooted in the team’s community outreach efforts that have an annual economic impact of more than $300 million.
As for Batteries Plus, it has its utility rooted in being a leading specialty retailer that offers an unmatched selection of battery solutions for consumers and businesses, Boasting over 700 locations in 46 states, the company is currently understand to process 50 million pounds of batteries, including over 1 million pounds of lithium-based batteries on an annual basis. Now, having kickstarted its new initiative in Green Bay, Batteries Plus plans on spreading the same throughout US at some point down the line.
“This is a huge step in American energy independence and building a full American supply chain. We need to be extracting the critical materials in these batteries in a responsible way by recycling the materials we already have in our system. Partnering with Batteries Plus and a great football team like the Packers will create this cycle,” said Jennifer Granholm, Energy Secretary.
