Lithium batteries crept up on us gradually, as they evolved from scientific curiosities into becoming part of our lives. Prior to this, we could irresponsibly put alkaline batteries into landfills without causing life-threatening explosions and fires. When lithium batteries arrived on supermarket shelves the paradigm shifted. Our lithium batteries turned an important environmental issue into an urgent one according to website VC Star.
Landfill is Not an Option When Lithium Batteries Are Involved
Society drapes a veil over what happens to our garbage. Fact is nobody is going to sift through our household trash to recover our spent batteries. Therefore a ginormous problem developed when lithium batteries arrived on the scene.
Battery makers either don’t allow for, or don’t care about the mechanical stress their products suffer in refuse tips. Their products give up their toxic chemicals after their tin-plate casings burst open. Then these chemicals filter through the earth carried by rainwater. These poisonous materials survive far longer than the composting process we may romantically imagine happens in landfills.
Advanced Recycling for Lithium-ion Batteries
Smart Things We Can Do to Shrink this Problem
Fixing a leak of any kind best starts at source, and that begins with us too. We can make a great beginning by cutting over to rechargeable batteries we can use over, and over again. And then, when their useful life is over we can hand them in at a recycle point. This should be a place where people know what to do.
Of course, we grant this is not always this easy, especially if you live beyond North America and Europe. If this is the case we recommend you encourage your local authority to follow the example of California. There, they require battery suppliers to take back rechargeable batteries for recycling, and ideally voluntarily accept other types of batteries.
They are after all making good money and must accept their commercial responsibilities. When lithium batteries expire, suppliers should do the decent thing and help reuse their materials. Please lobby your representative if this is not happening in your community,
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