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| Increasing Invisible Crisis of Battery Waste | | | Vijay Garg | 8/27/2025 10:52:32 PM |
| Today the world is running on battery. Our fingers touch battery-powered devices dozens of times a day, from morning alarms to night TV’s remote off. Smartphones in hand, watch tied on wrist, kids toys, laptap and now our roads running carts are also running with batteries. This is an example of technological progress, which has made our lives easy and convenient. But there is also another aspect of this facility, not as bright as it is. This aspect is the ‘initiative’ of the waste of used batteries, which is standing before us as an invisible and dangerous crisis. As India is moving towards the digital and electric future, it has become imperative to understand that if we did not manage battery waste properly, the path to our progress can become a destructive trap for environment and health. India is one of the largest consumer markets in the world. Every year hundreds of millions of electronic devices are purchased and come with them crores of batteries. These include from small alkali batteries like ‘pencil cells’ to lithium-ion batteries used in mobile phones and lapataps, and heavy-lying lead acid batteries that take place in trains and inverters. The policy of promoting electric vehicles through schemes such as the government’s ‘Fame India’ is welcome, but it will result in the coming decade the trash of lithium-ion batteries rapidly spread across our cities. Question is the organism of these millions of batteries what will happen to them when the lifetime ends? If we kept throwing these like simple waste, we would be putting a poisonous ‘time bomb’ in our own r. Is. The thing that makes battery waste dangerous is the chemical that exists inside it. For example, lead (lead) and sulphuric acid in lead acid batteries used in our trains and inverters. Lead is powerful neurotaxin, i.e. it directly attacks our nervous system. When these batteries are broken or thrown in an unscientific way, lead is found in the soil and then underground water. It slowly enters our food chain. Then it reaches our body through water, vegetables and grains. This is especially fatal for children. Exposure to lead can prevent mental and physical development of children. Their ability to learn may be low and behavioral problems may arise. On the other hand, lithium-ion batteries, called the life of modern equipment and electric vehicles, are also not milk-washed. These are often considered as ‘green options’, but the management of their waste is also a big challenge. They contain metals such as cobalt, nickel and manganese, in addition to lithium. If these are thrown into a garbage dump, these heavy metals can seeand pollute groundwater. Similarly, the button cells used in old watches and remote are found to have extremely toxic metals such as cadmium in mercury (mercury) and toy batteries, which pose a serious threat to environment and human health. The ground reality of managing battery waste in India is alarming, as a huge part of it is the unorganized sector i.e. our junk ‘s business operates through those. This field is like a double-edged sword. On one hand, garbage pickers work the first and most important link of the recycling series by collecting used batteries from our homes and shops. Without them this garbage would probably remain lying in the corners of our houses or in the dustbins itself. On the other hand, their way of working is unsafe for them and destructive to the environment. They break these poisonous batteries with hammers without any safety equipment, such as gloves or masks. acid from lead aciy batteries into the open drains the acid is melted into small furnaces, causing poisonous smoke to dissolve directly into the air. Workers working in the process themselves are victims of lead poisoning, skin diseases and severe respiratory illnesses. It’s a great pleasure to have you. Some valuable metals are only recoverable and thrown, Recognizing this critical situation, the central government has taken a big step in August 2022, the government notified the ‘Battery Waste Management Rules, 2022’. These rules replace the old rules. These are based on a MA very important principle, called ‘Extended Creator Responsibility’. In simple terms, the responsibility of the company now making the battery or importing it over will not be limited to just selling the battery, but also has to ensure that it is collected back from consumers when the battery is damaged and recycled in an environment-friendly manner. All types of Batteries- Portable, Automotive Industrial and Electric Vehicle Batteries are included under these new rules. The target has been set for the producers to collect a certain amount of old batteries every year and hand them over to the registered recyclers. A centralized portal has been created to monitor this entire process, to find out how many batteries were sold in the market and how many of them rechecked back. All types of Batteries- Portable, Automotive Industrial and Electric Vehicle Batteries are included under these new rules. The target has been set for the producers to collect a certain amount of old batteries every year and hand them over to the registered recyclers. A centralized portal has been created to monitor this entire process, to find out how many batteries were sold in the market and how many of them came back for recycling. The rules also clarify that pressing or burning of battery waste in a garbage dump is prohibited. This policy is theoretically very strong and if implemented in the right spirit, it can change the face of managing battery waste in India. We should look at the battery recycling not just as garbage management but also as an economic opportunity. Today India is completely dependent on imports for important metals like lithium and cobalt. We can reduce our own import dependency if there could be scope to remove these metals from old batteries. It will be a big step towards creating a ‘cyclic economy’, where instead of throwing waste it is converted back to a valuable resource. This will not only save our environment, but also create new jobs and our national security will also strengthen. For a clean and sustainable future, we have to learn to conclude our batteries responsibly.
Vijay Garg Retired Principal educational columnist Eminent Educationist street kour Chand MHR Malout Punjab
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