South America produces most of it recycling may be clean but production seems dirty.
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/mar/23/battery-l...
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/mar/23/battery-l...
The processing of the slurry to get the lithium after it's mined. All that water needed in a very arid region.
It was in contrast to lithium being easily recyclable compared to the vast scale of mining it.