A recent Weibo post by CCTV stating that household batteries do not need to be recycled has attracted widespread attention online. However, according to our understanding, the batteries that still require unified recycling include: button batteries, lead-acid batteries such as electric vehicle batteries, and nickel-cadmium batteries, all of which cause significant environmental damage. However, the recycling process for these batteries faces various challenges.
Mobile phone batteries face an awkward situation in recycling.
It is understood that the low profitability and poor quality of used batteries are the main reasons for the lukewarm reception of their recycling. A mobile phone dealer surnamed Sun told reporters, "New batteries don't cost much to buy now. Who would bother recycling used batteries for a shop like ours?"
Mobile phone retailers are reluctant to accept used batteries, but what about the manufacturers' attitude? Research shows that as early as 2005, China Mobile, in conjunction with Motorola and Nokia, launched the "Green Box Environmental Protection Program" to recycle used batteries produced by both companies. However, the recycling rate was less than 1%. Some provinces only collected a few hundred discarded mobile phones and some components in a year. The recycling efficiency of used batteries is truly worrying.
According to staff at the Hangzhou Municipal Hazardous Solid Waste Management Center, my country currently only has a "Technical Policy for the Prevention and Control of Waste Battery Pollution." Although it stipulates that "battery manufacturers and importers should bear the responsibility of recycling waste batteries," this is only a technical policy and there are no punitive measures for entities that fail to fulfill their responsibilities. Therefore, it does not play its due role in prevention and control in real life.
The recycling of used batteries presents a stark contrast between booming and bustling markets.
Compared to the lack of demand for mobile phone batteries, the recycling of old car batteries is clearly much more popular. Reporters visited several auto repair shops and auto parts stores along roads such as Tiyuchang Road and Jianguo North Road, and found that they all offered to recycle old batteries. The specific price depended mainly on the brand and the proportion of metal components.
The owner of a repair shop near Dongyuan Park on Dashu Road said, "Our batteries here are generally 36 volts and cost 270 yuan, but the exact price depends on the type of battery." When asked what happens to the recycled batteries, the owner said that companies specializing in collecting them come to collect them. He didn't know how these companies process the batteries or whether they are qualified to do so. The reporter lingered at the scene for a while and observed that within just ten minutes, three or four customers came in to exchange their batteries, indicating brisk business.
In contrast, companies specializing in waste battery collection are not doing so well. Zheng Jin, vice president of Hangzhou Cixiang Environmental Protection Technology Co., Ltd., told reporters: "Currently, we can only recycle a small number of batteries. There are two reasons for this. First, our company has not been established for long and does not have much brand recognition. Second, many repair shop owners do not have a strong environmental awareness and complain that our recycling prices are not as high as those of individual collectors. However, we have processing costs, so we really cannot compete with others in terms of price."
According to Zheng Jin, individual battery collectors inevitably cause pollution problems when disposing of batteries. "Individual collectors who cannot dispose of batteries themselves have to send them to other places for disposal. To reduce transportation costs, they often dump the battery fluid, which causes environmental pollution," Zheng Jin said.
According to environmental experts, waste lead-acid batteries contain chemical substances such as lead paste and waste sulfuric acid. Indiscriminate discharge of these substances can cause serious harm to soil and groundwater, and this impact can last for many years. Lead-acid batteries contain highly soluble acid containing a certain amount of lead; improper discharge of this acid can pollute the land and produce lead vapor, posing a threat to human health.
