Starting on 22 April (Earth Day), Volkswagen of America and Redwood Materials will offer consumers a convenient way to recycle rechargeable devices or lithium-ion batteries. Participating Volkswagen dealerships will offer Redwood bins for easy and safe drop off of rechargeable batteries and consumer devices, including cell phones, laptops, tablets, cordless power tools, electric toothbrushes, wireless headphones, and old vacuum batteries.

The collaboration between Volkswagen Group of America and Redwood began last year with a strategic recycling deal for all Volkswagen and Audi electric vehicle battery packs and a shared vision to create a circular EV economy.

According to Redwood, its technology can recover more than 95% of the critical minerals from batteries (such as nickel, cobalt, lithium, and copper) and then manufacture the metals into battery components that are supplied to US battery manufacturers for new electric vehicles and energy storage products. If adopted across the industry, battery recycling programs like this could help reduce battery costs as well as the need to mine and ship raw materials.

The consumer recycling program officially launches at 14 dealerships on 22 April, with a soft launch at the Volkswagen booth during the New York International Auto Show 5 - 16 April . Additional dealerships will be added throughout the year.

• Findlay VW Henderson – Henderson, NV
• Flow Volkswagen – Wilmington, NC
• Hall VW – Brookfield, WI
• Herzog-Meier VW – Beaverton, OR
• Lindsay VW – Manassas, VA
• Lindsay VW of Dulles – Sterling, VA
• Mission Bay Volkswagen - San Diego, CA
• Reydel Volkswagen – Edison, NJ
• Reydel Volkswagen – Linden, NJ
• Sendell Volkswagen – Greensburg, PA
• Street VW – Amarillo, TX
• Tracy Volkswagen – Hyannis, MA
• Toms River Volkswagen – Toms River, NJ
• University VW – Albuquerque, NM

The Volkswagen Group brands plan to introduce more than 25 new battery electric vehicles to American consumers through 2030, with the Group aiming for 55% of its US sales to be fully electric by 2030.