Paper: GS – III, Subject: Environment, Ecology and Disaster Management, Topic: Waste Management, Issue: Issues with battery waste management.
Context:
India notified the Battery Waste Management Rules (BWMR), 2022, to address the issue. However, battery waste management lacks a robust framework, risking environmental and health hazards.
Key Highlights:
Key Issues in Battery Waste Management:
- Growing Battery Waste Volume: Lithium batteries account for 7 lakh tonnes of the 1.6 million metric tonnes of e-waste in 2022. EV battery demand is expected to surge from 4 GWh (2023) to 139 GWh by 2035.
- Environmental Hazards: Improper disposal leaks hazardous materials into soil and water.
- Health Hazards: Rare earth metals like cobalt, lithium, nickel though valuable are also toxic.
- Missing Framework for Recycling: Lack of a comprehensive, regulated ecosystem for lithium battery recycling leads to informal and unsafe recycling practices.
Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR):
- Objective: Make producers responsible for collection and recycling of batteries.
- EPR Floor Price:
- It is the minimum price recyclers should receive to recover costs sustainably.
- It ensures recyclers get fair compensation for collection, technology, infrastructure, and R&D.
- Challenges with EPR system:
- Cost issues: Current EPR prices are too low to cover actual costs. Illicit recycling practices thrive such as fake certificates, hazardous dumping.
- Unviable Recycling Economics: Legitimate recyclers struggle to sustain due to poor cost recovery. Estimated loss due to poor recycling is over $1 billion by 2030.
- Informality: Informal/unregulated recyclers dominate due to lack of proper pricing which undermines India’s circular economy and green goals.
- Resistance by Manufacturers: Global corporations often resist EPR compliance in developing countries pointing out the dual standards for developed vs developing nations.
| Global Best Practices: UK mandates ₹600/kg EPR cost for EV battery recycling while India lags significantly, even after adjusting for purchasing power.There is a need for a globally benchmarked EPR floor price that reflects true costs. |
Way Forward:
Conclusion:
e-waste is not just an environmental issue, it is an economic and strategic imperative. A robust battery waste management system is key to India’s Circular economy goals, Net Zero by 2070, Domestic resource security and public health protection.
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