Originally Posted by Eric Bryant

Yeah, that's for clean "virgin" material. It has some significant value, but there isn't much in a small battery. You've got maybe a couple dimes worth of the stuff in a hobby pack (or power tool, or cell phone), and so by the time you look at the cost of the recycling process, it's a fool's errand. The situation is totally different from the value contained in a scrap lead-acid battery. There also isn't the toxicity concern that one had with NiCad batteries (which we really didn't want going into landfills).

My main concern with scrap lithium batteries is the risk of fire, and once again, simply discharging them down to 0% SOC (<3V/cell) largely takes care of that concern.