Sen. McNerney Introduces Bill to Recycle Critical Minerals for Clean Energy
Senator Jerry McNerney, D-Pleasanton, on Wednesday introduced SB 235, new legislation that would lay the groundwork for creating a state market for recycling critical minerals essential to batteries, electric vehicles, solar panels, and wind turbines.
“California has made substantial progress toward meeting our climate goals. Yet much of our clean energy manufacturing still relies on critical minerals that are mined in China in ways that are not only damaging to the environment, but also carbon-intensive,” said Sen. McNerney, who is a member of the Senate Energy Committee. “SB 235 will jumpstart the creation of a new market in California for recapturing rare earth metals from old batteries, cellphones, and other electronics and reusing them for our own clean energy industry.”
California’s clean energy sector is the largest in the nation and provides more than a half-million jobs. Yet much of the state’s clean energy manufacturing depends on critical minerals like lithium, cobalt, nickel, copper, and rare earth metals that are mined and extracted in processes that can pollute soil and water with toxic heavy metals like arsenic and produce significant amounts of CO2.
California already encourages electronics recycling, but old laptops, computers, cellphones, and other equipment are shipped overseas to be recycled. It’s unclear whether critical minerals and rare earth metals embedded in those recycled electronics from the U.S are subsequently recovered and reused for use in new electronic manufacturing.
A recent study found that recycled and reused rare earth metals could meet as much as 40 percent of the demand for critical minerals in the United States, China and Europe by 2050. SB 235 would also enable California to tap into the burgeoning new market for domestically recycled critical minerals and stay competitive with other states, like Nevada.
SB 235 would require the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery to examine current technologies or those under development to recover and reuse critical minerals and outline the benefits of creating a market in California to critical minerals for clean energy applications. SB 235 would also require the department to make recommendations to CA industries on the best practices for recycling critical minerals.
“California is a national leader on clean energy but we’re in danger of falling behind other states when it comes to reusing critical minerals,” Sen. McNerney added. “Creating a market here for rare earth metals recycling will not only reduce climate impacts but also promises to be cost-effective. Plus, it will help California guard against the threat of expensive Trump tariffs on goods from China and other countries.”
Sen. Jerry McNerney is chair of the Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee and his 5th Senate District includes all of San Joaquin County and Alameda County’s Tri-Valley.