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Recycle a lead acid battery, and where does it go?
Most of us feel pretty green when we take our batteries back and responsibly dispose of them. Sure, Dad used to leave his rotting Exides behind the garage, but we'd never do that - and we don't have to. There's an excellent battery recycling program, thanks to the efforts of the Battery Council. In just about every state, they've put programs in place to recycle and reclaim that lead so it doesn't end up in the local landfill. Most of those cars will use lead acid batteries. When those lead acid batteries die, they'll be recycled. And then what? Waste Trade
A few years ago, Greenpeace investigated the "battery recycling" industry to see what exactly happens after you take your battery back to the store under BCI's widespread lead acid battery recycling program. This is what they found:
It appears to make good economic sense to export our dead lead batteries to be "recycled" elsewhere, so our companies are happy to do that. But Greenpeace discovered that there is a "double standard" that applies to the international toxic waste trade. For example, in the US, workers in the lead recycling industry are required to use full body protective gear when they handle lead. Contrast that with a facility in the Philippines where Greenpeace discovered factory workers pulling batteries apart with their bare hands.Here are some excerpts from the Greenpeace report by Cobbing and Divecha entitled, "The myth of automobile battery recycling": Indonesia -"Greenpeace visited IMLI, the largest battery waste importing plant in Indonesia, located south of Surabaya. IMLI burns 60,000 tonnes of lead acid batteries at the plant each year. Clouds of smoke and ash from the factory have been descending on the community since IMLI began operation (in the late 1980's), rendering nearby rice fields infertile. Local residents complain that ashes from the factory often fall in their wells and on their food.... 
IMLI also dumps its waste slag - a mixture of lead and plastic from the furnaces - outside its factory gates. Villagers collect the slag, take it home, and smelt it in woks over open fires in their backyards. The lead spills onto the ground as it is poured off, while molten plastic floats to the top. The villagers then try to sell the extracted lead content of the slag...."Philippines -"At Parker Batteries (in Manila), workers wear no protective clothing....(and) exhibit signs of lead contamination with teeth blackened by years of inhaling lead." The UN's response: The Basel Convention
A while back, the United Nations noticed that wealthy nations were sending their toxic trash to poorer nations, and drew up an international treaty called the Basel Convention to protect developing nations from this "free trade".The major points of the Basel Convention?
The appropriate methods include: This is just responsible behavior, isn't it? Nobody wants lead in their drinking water and food supply. Nobody wants the kids playing in a pile of leaking batteries. And nobody can afford to safely handle the toxic stuff better than the countries (like US) who generate the most hazardous waste. If you have to deal with the garbage, you're going to be more motivated to produce as little of it as possible! The Basel Action Network (BAN), based in Seattle, is a non-profit organization which functions as an information clearinghouse and watchdog agency, observing the implementation and enforcement of the Basel Convention. Lead battery recycling is definitely one of their concerns! The BAN reports that there are some 160 members of the convention now - including China, the EU, and Australia - but the United States is not one of them. (Why not?)
You always make me think! Thanks, Lynne, your site ROCKS!!
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