Why batteries?
Unsafe recycling of lead batteries is one of the largest sources of lead poisoning globally.
Approximately one third of global lead poisoning is caused by lead battery recycling.
Lead poisoning comes from many sources, including gasoline, paint, and spices. Lead batteries are the only major source of lead poisoning that lacks a global coordinated approach to elimination.
Batteries are everywhere – in rickshaws, cars, backup power systems, and solar storage. The batteries themselves are not an issue; it’s when they are recycled improperly that they poison communities, workers, and the environment.
This problem has already been solved in many parts of the world. We can solve it globally.
In settings where unsafe battery recycling persists today, market incentives systematically favor cheap, polluting practices. If we can make safer recycling more profitable than unsafe recycling, we can put an end to this issue globally. This can be done in three ways:
Increase investments in safer recyclers
Support buyers to source lead from safer recylers
