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International trade

Exporting products, not batteries

EcoMinería (Ecoprojects), a founding partner of EcoBaterías, operated a hydrometallurgical plant in Lampa that returned the recovered minerals to mining. Today EcoBaterías takes in batteries and panels in Santiago and Viña del Mar for testing, and its new plant is under review by the Seremi de Salud RM (Chile’s regional health authority).

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    Used lithium batteries are hazardous waste: nobody may export them from Chile while there is local capacity to treat them (Basel Convention, art. 4.9), and never to countries outside the OECD. What does leave are the products of valorization, such as cobalt sulfate, copper, aluminum or black mass that meets a specification, which are sold as goods rather than as waste. That is why the value stays in Chile, at the plant that does the processing.

    Updated October 9, 2026 · Reviewed by the EcoBaterías technical team.

    Used batteries
    Hazardous waste: not exported while there is local capacity
    Possible destination for hazardous waste
    OECD countries only, with prior consent
    Valorized products
    Sold as goods, with no prior consent
    Cobalt sulfate in transport
    Class 9 dangerous goods (UN3077)

    Source: Basel Convention, articles 2, 4, 6 and 8, and the Ban Amendment, accepted by Chile in 2009 · 2026-10-06

    What the Basel Convention regulates

    The Basel Convention regulates transboundary movements of hazardous waste, not of goods. Article 2 defines what waste is; article 4.9 limits waste exports to cases where the country of origin cannot treat it in an environmentally sound manner; article 6 subjects every shipment to prior informed consent, and article 8 requires the cargo to be re-imported if the movement cannot be completed. Chile accepted the Ban Amendment in 2009: it may not send hazardous waste to countries outside the OECD, not even for recycling.

    For lithium batteries, this means the material has to be valorized in Chile while local capacity exists. The Lampa plant, operated by EcoMinería (Ecoprojects), a founding partner of EcoBaterías, already did so: it held a 2020 health permit from the Seremi de Salud of the Santiago Metropolitan Region for the hydrometallurgical process, issued in EcoMinería’s name, and its outputs were cobalt and nickel sulfate, copper and aluminum. The new EcoBaterías plant is under review by the Seremi de Salud RM.

    Exporting hazardous waste versus selling a valorized product
    StageHazardous waste (used batteries)Product valorized in Chile
    From ChileNot exported while there is local capacity (art. 4.9)Sold in Chile or exported
    Prior authorizationNotification and written consent from every State (art. 6); prohibited outside the OECDDoes not apply: the cargo is not waste
    TransportHazardous waste, with approved packaging and few willing carriersClass 9 dangerous goods (UN3077 if solid), with a dangerous-goods booking
    If the destination rejects itMandatory re-import at the exporter’s cost (art. 8)Renegotiated or resold, like any product

    Swipe to see the full table

    Source: Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal (opens in a new tab) · articles 2, 4, 6 and 8.

    The case of black mass

    Black mass, the powder left after grinding the cells, sits in between. China has admitted it as a raw material since July 1, 2025 if it meets the GB/T 45203 standard (grade 2: nickel plus cobalt of at least 25% and lithium of at least 3.5%): for that buyer it is a product, not waste. The European Union went the other way: it classified black mass as hazardous waste and restricts its export outside the OECD, so that critical metals stay in Europe. Before shipping it from Chile, the specification has to be proven. We explain it in what black mass is.

    Why the value stays in Chile

    If the batteries cannot leave, the country needs somewhere to valorize them, and whoever processes them captures both parts of the business: the intake fee and the value of the metals. Chile imported 1,418 t of cobalt sulfate in 2025, worth USD 8.7 million (Chilean Customs Service, tariff line 2833.29.10), almost all of it for copper electrowinning; the recycled product replaces part of those imports without crossing any border.

    The product is not a laboratory promise either. As market evidence, the hydrometallurgical plant of Codelco El Teniente successfully tested recycled cobalt sulfate, delivered in solution (testing from November 2023; results published in July 2024), with 22% lower cost and 40% lower consumption than imported sulfate, and one daily addition instead of three. The El Rancagüino article of 2024-07-15 (opens in a new tab) does not name the supplier. The detail is in the Codelco El Teniente test and in how the process works.

    Before exporting: management inside Chile

    The advantage of shipping product starts long before the port: it starts when the battery is received with its paperwork in order. That is the part you need solved if you are a producer, an importer or an industrial consumer.

    Frequently asked questions

    Can used lithium batteries be exported from Chile?

    Not while there is local capacity to treat them. They are hazardous waste and the Basel Convention (art. 4.9) limits their export to cases where the country of origin cannot valorize them; in addition, Chile accepted the Ban Amendment and may not send them to countries outside the OECD.

    Why do valorized products not need prior consent?

    Because the Convention regulates waste, not goods. A product with a commercial specification and a buyer, such as cobalt sulfate, is sold as goods. For transport it is still dangerous goods (class 9, UN3077 if solid), but it needs no notification or consent from any State.

    Can black mass be exported to China?

    Yes, if it meets the Chinese GB/T 45203 standard, in force since July 1, 2025: China receives it as a raw material. The European Union, by contrast, treats it as hazardous waste and restricts its export outside the OECD.

    What happens if the cargo is rejected at destination?

    For waste under the Convention, if the movement cannot be completed the exporter must re-import the cargo at its own cost (art. 8). For a product, the risk is the ordinary commercial risk of any goods: it is renegotiated or resold at destination.

    Sources

    Have batteries or panels out of service?

    We quote the testing and tell you which route makes sense: repair, second life or recycling through authorized receiving facilities.

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