By Urmila Malvadkar
Smoke plumes shot up and darkened the horizon from a fire at an EMR metal recycling facility in Camden on February 21. Although the cause could not be confirmed, EMR initially speculated the cause was a lithium-ion battery. These are not supposed to be sent to EMR’s facility, and they constitute a serious fire risk.
This was not an isolated incident: EMR has had multiple fires and environmental violations over the past several years. Further, New Jersey has had many instances of battery-induced fires at recycling plants across the state, injuring people and damaging property.
“We are surrounded by industrial danger,” said Alicia Lawrence, a resident of the Waterfront South Community in Camden, as she listed several other companies that have industrial complexes in the neighborhood.
Following an email from Heart of Camden, a neighborhood organization, Lawrence and others from the neighborhood evacuated to hotels in Cherry Hill, returning to their homes two days later.
Residents are concerned EMR provides only limited information to the community through certain channels, even though community members have requested direct contact in case of emergency, noted Mike Morgan, project manager at Heart of Camden. Consequently, residents didn’t know what they were breathing and whether it was safe to stay in the neighborhood.
“I was dizzy. I couldn’t breathe. My whole throat started burning,” Lawrence said, recalling the evening of the fire. A few days later, she went to the hospital, where she was diagnosed with carbon monoxide poisoning from the fire.
Waterfront South resident Portia Simmons chose to not evacuate. She sheltered in place for three days and avoided going outside.
Fires at EMR are one of many sources of air pollution for the residents of Camden, one of the most racially mixed cities in the state and where the per-capita income is about half the state average. Air pollution causes around 12% of deaths globally, according to the British Medical Journal. Camden received a D for air quality in the American Lung Association’s 2025 New Jersey report card.
Fires cause both physical and emotional damage. “I feel like I have to be constantly vigilant and on guard for the next fire,” said Simmons, who noted that Camden has had multiple fires in her seven years of living there.
The EMR fire shows a dark side of recycling. Recycling is intended to be good for the environment. However, we need to find ways to recycle without putting people’s lives and health at risk. We can advocate for laws requiring strict fire-safety standards, enforced oversight of polluters, and severe penalties for non-compliance.
A reminder: Batteries must be disposed of and recycled properly. For information about battery disposal in your New Jersey community, visit the following Department of Environmental Protection website: https://shorturl.at/HAkZl
Some counties also collect batteries during household waste events.