What about battery risks – recycling, fire safety, and lithium mining?

The data are clear: certified lithium systems are safer, recyclable, and long-lasting, while gas remains volatile and toxic.

Modern commercial batteries used in blowers are not the same as those in low-cost consumer tools of ten or even five years ago. Since 2023, all major manufacturers have certified their battery packs to UL 2271 and UL 2580 standards, which include rigorous testing for crush, puncture, and over-charge. The National Fire Protection Association reported last year that professionally managed outdoor-power packs show fewer than 1 thermal event per 10 million units in service — a rate far below that of gasoline fires from spilled or stored fuel.

Just as there are no media reports of landscapers going out of business or passing on astronomical costs to customers, there are no reports of battery blower fires – it’s not happening. Fire departments across the country receive standardized guidance from UL Solutions on safe storage and transport. Even insurance underwriters classify certified battery banks as low risk when properly housed. By contrast, gasoline poses well-documented hazards. The EPA estimates that small-engine fuel handling causes more than 17 million gallons of spills annually in the U.S., each a fire and pollution risk. Moving to batteries eliminates that threat. They’re safer.

In short, when landscapers mix gas and oil for their leaf blowers, and especially on sites where cigarette smoking might be taking place, this is far more combustible and dangerous. The assertion that Lithium batteries pose a greater risk is not borne out by the facts.

About recycling and disposal, every major electric battery brand partners with Call2Recycle, the national program that collects and processes over 8 million pounds of lithium packs each year from retailers including our local Home Depot and Lowe’s. Metals such as nickel, cobalt, and copper are recovered for reuse; plastics are reclaimed for new casings. Nothing ends up in landfill, and manufacturers pay into the system as part of extended-producer responsibility rules.

And there’s the issue of lithium mining for batteries. It’s gas, fossil fuels, after all – not lithium mining – that are the main threat to our environment.  Extraction methods for lithium are improving all the time in efficiency and safety. Not so for fossil fuels, which continue to be mined in the destructive ways they always have been. And if we’re so concerned about lithium, then we should all give up our cell phones, laptops, and EVs. They also run on lithium batteries. 

The data are clear: certified lithium systems are safer, recyclable, and long-lasting, while gas remains volatile and toxic. Let’s implement policy on present-day evidence and so protect the public’s health as quickly as possible.