If you want a battery that will last a really long time, nickel-iron batteries already do that. They have 50+ year life spans and are incredibly robust. And if you care about recycling, well its just nickel and iron. The nickel you obviously would want back, but the iron is worth almost nothing.
Until we can surpass current lithium batteries in energy density, cycle stability, and safety all at once, iron-nickel is more than good enough to be used in any application where current lithium tech struggles, and will outlive you along with being infinitely recyclable and basically as safe as any battery ever could be.
This may be an issue for very small draws, like a TV remote. This can be moot in situations of constant recharge and only staying without any recharge for 2-3 days, rarely, like in utility-scale renewable generation (solar, wind).
They seem to cost much more per kWh than LiFePO4 batteries though.
These have been around for a while. I remember the Center For Alternative Technology in Wales was using them for their solar array, twenty years ago. However, all the more recent deployments are using lithium based cells.
I'm guessing the weight (energy density) issue matters for overall costs because of shipping?
Until we can surpass current lithium batteries in energy density, cycle stability, and safety all at once, iron-nickel is more than good enough to be used in any application where current lithium tech struggles, and will outlive you along with being infinitely recyclable and basically as safe as any battery ever could be.