ReMA Seeks Member Comments on Provisional Standard NFPA 800

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) is due to release NFPA 800, a Provisional Standard (PS) for the Battery Safety Code, over the coming months, and ReMA intends to submit consolidated industry comments during the public input period. To do this effectively, ReMA needs informed feedback from leaders across its membership.

Recycling is addressed as a distinct section within NFPA 800, making this a pivotal opportunity to ensure the standard reflects the real operational, safety, and risk conditions present in recyclers’ operations.

What is NFPA?

The NFPA is a nonprofit organization that publishes consensus standards related to life safety, construction, electrical, and related hazards. Related standard and code organizations are the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), ASTM International, and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). The NFPA “focuses its efforts on helping to eliminate loss from fire, electrical, and life safety hazards.”

About NFPA 800

The NFPA has released a call for comments on the newly created NFPA 800. The Committee preparing the code has “the primary responsibility for documents on the hazard identification as well as prevention, control, and suppression of fire, explosions, and related hazards of cells and batteries during: (1) handling of materials; (2) manufacturing and assembly; (3) transportation; (4) storage; (5) installation; (6) operation; (7) recycling; (8) disposal; (9) repurposing.”

Part of the NFPA process prior to publication as a code is a public comment period on the proposed language. Chapter 9 of the code specifically addresses battery recycling, disposal, and decommissioning. 

Why Your Participation Matters

While an NFPA standard or code is not law, the consensus process can influence local policy or litigation. Standards and codes are often adopted into local safety codes and fire-prevention ordinances and legislation that will impact member facilities.  This code will impact all recyclers in the United States.

Active participation in this immediate revision cycle directly supports ReMA’s objective to advance safe, sustainable recycling operations by ensuring regulatory frameworks are informed by industry expertise rather than assumptions.

“Safety is a core value at ReMA, and getting battery safety right is essential as more batteries enter the recycling stream, whether intentionally or unintentionally,” said Mike Marino, ReMA’s Vice President of Safety. “Understanding new requirements and their potential impact on recycling operations and employees is critically important.”

ReMA’s Ask

Review the NFPA 800 provisional standard and provide comments back to ReMA no later than Tuesday, January 20 so that ReMA can submit coordinated feedback on behalf of the industry.

In addition, ReMA strongly encourages members to submit comments individually on behalf of your company to ensure your specific operational, technical, and risk-based perspectives are represented directly to NFPA.

To be most effective, comments should include:

  • Section number (and subsection, if applicable)
  • Issue or concern, including operational, safety, or feasibility impacts
  • Justification for the comment
  • Proposed language change or a clearly stated recommendation

This level of specificity significantly increases the likelihood that comments are meaningfully considered during the standards development process.

Accessing the Standard & Submitting Comments

NFPA does not provide hard copies of provisional standards. Access and comment submission are handled electronically, and there is no way to attach a PDF of the standard for your review.

To that end, members should employ the following necessary steps:

  • Visit www.nfpa.org;
  • Create or log in to a free NFPA account;
  • Navigate to Codes & Standards → List of Codes and Standards → NFPA 800;
  • Access the provisional standard for online viewing;
  • Use the “Public Input” feature to submit comments directly through the NFPA system; and
  • Send your submitted concerns to ReMA for collation.

The NFPA platform is used both to review the document and to submit formal comments if you so choose.

Submitting Comments to ReMA

Members’ expertise is vital to ensuring NFPA 800 enhances safety without creating unintended operational or compliance challenges for our industry.

“This is a pivotal opportunity to provide leadership and share recycling expertise to ensure the new battery safety code reflects the real operational, safety, and risk conditions in recycling operations today,” Marino said.

Please send your consolidated comments to [email protected] by Tuesday, January 20, using the structure outlined above. ReMA will compile and submit industry-level feedback informed by member input.