The number of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) is steadily increasing to meet the ever-increasing demand for sustainable energy and improved human quality of life. However, this growth is accompanied by a significant amount of LIB waste, which, if not properly disposed of, poses a safety and environmental threat due to its toxic content. In addition, the high consumption of scarce resources of precious metals, which are essential for the production of batteries, is also a serious problem. Due to the serious environmental, resource, safety and recycling issues, the recycling of used LIBs is extremely important to achieve sustainable development. Therefore, this review analyzes the importance and necessity of recycling spent LIBs from different resource and environmental perspectives. Next, a general overview of existing technologies for the recovery and recycling of spent LIBs, such as pyrometallurgy, hydrometallurgy, and mechanical method, is presented. In addition, the advantages and disadvantages of the described methods are analyzed. The factories of the world in which LIB processing is carried out are considered separately.
