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Lawmakers hear safety and recycling case for battery EPR bill HB 4144
Summary
At an informational session, lawmakers heard witnesses blame lithium batteries for frequent transfer-station and route-truck fires and outline House Bill 4144, a producer-funded battery takeback program designed to reduce fire risk and recover metals without a point-of-sale fee.
Representative Emerson Levy introduced House Bill 4144 to the Senate Energy and Environment Committee on Feb. 2, saying lithium batteries are igniting in waste streams and posing wildfire and facility-safety risks. "In Deschutes County Landfill, they had 54 fires last year caused by lithium batteries," Levy said, framing the bill as a safety and materials-recovery measure.
Tom Eggleston, policy and program development manager for Metro, told the committee Metro recorded 61 transfer-station fires in 2025 and that medium-format lithium-ion batteries were the ignition source in many cases. "In the last year, in 2025, we had 61 fires at our transfer stations in Metro," Eggleston said, and described how punctured battery envelopes can self-ignite and start large fires in compactors and pits.
Eggleston outlined key elements of HB 4144 as they…
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