Green products are becoming more popular; whether you’re looking for a new home or an automobile, there’s a green product choice available. It’s up to you to weigh your options and figure out which green product characteristics are most important to you. Let’s focus on the batteries and its components – Lead, lithium-ion (Li-ion), nickel-metal hydride (Ni-MH), nickel-cadmium (Ni-Cd), lithium-ion polymer, nickel-zinc, and alkaline are among the components. These components are used to manufacture a variety of batteries. The use, power, and recycling procedure of these batteries may then vary.
Most people identify these sorts of batteries with environmental degradation, but there are additional dangers to be wary of. Poor handling, storage, and disposal of any contemporary electronic item throughout its end-of-life period can raise the danger of fire or poisoning.
Batteries that have been depleted are thrown away and wind up in landfills, where they degrade and leak. When batteries deteriorate, the chemicals leak into the earth, contaminating groundwater and surface water. When our ecosystems are contaminated by battery chemicals, countless aquatic plants and animals are harmed.
This indicates that we may be swallowing hazardous metals when we drink from tap water. Did you know that lithium batteries that have been improperly disposed of can be extremely dangerous? Lithium batteries may start fires in landfills that can burn for years. As a result, the hazardous compounds discharged into the air harm human health and contribute to global warming. Poorly exposed batteries’ vaporised form is also maintained in the atmosphere, contaminating lakes and streams as rain.
Toxic metals contained in batteries, such as nickel and cadmium, are proven human carcinogens, according to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. Any chemical, radiation, or radionuclide that functions as a cancer-causing agent is referred to as a carcinogen.
We risk getting malignant impairments when these chemicals contact our air and water. Lead, another hazardous element present in batteries, has been connected to serious medical concerns such as developmental and neurological impairment, as well as congenital abnormalities. Because of its very poisonous nature, particularly in vapour form, the Indian government adopted regulations in 1996 prohibiting the use of Mercury in batteries. People may now use smaller batteries, such as single-use alkaline cells, without worry of Mercury poisoning, according to this new regulation.
Based on this rising issues and as a mitigation, many Indian firms have already begun to consider this as potential hazard and have either begun or announced intentions to develop recycling facilities.
For their electric cars, the MG ZS EV and Kona Electric, which were introduced in India, MG Motor and Hyundai have institutional partners for battery waste disposal. For optimal life cycle management of the batteries used in the ZS electric cars, MG collaborated with Umicore, a lithium battery recycling solutions supplier. Tata Chemicals began recycling lithium-ion batteries in Mumbai in August of last year. The activities, which were started on a small scale, were able to effectively recycle the used batteries. Mahindra Electric has indicated that it plans to enable EV battery recycling in the same way as cell phone batteries are recycled, with the help of a supply partner.
Batteries, as well as any other trash that might possibly release toxins into the environment, should be handled with caution, particularly when disposed of. Part of the difficulty is the lack of information and collection places to help people in safely disposing of their batteries and repurposing them.