How to deal with waste batteries

How to recycle used batteries abroad

Japan Hokkaido Nomura Corporation from the country's annual acquisition of used batteries up to 13,000 tons, accounting for 20% of the country's used batteries, the collection of 93% of the way through the collection of private environmental protection organizations, 7% through the collection of manufacturers. In the past, the main recovery of mercury, but now Japan's domestic batteries do not contain mercury, the main recovery of the battery's iron shell and the "black" raw materials, and secondary product development and manufacturing, for example, one of the products can be used for the production of television tubes.

Germany Require consumers to use up dry cell batteries, button batteries and other types of batteries sent to the store or waste recycling station for recycling, the store and waste recycling station must unconditionally accept used batteries, and forwarded to the manufacturer for recycling. Waste recycling stations and manufacturers generally only recycled batteries containing cadmium, mercury and other toxic chemicals, while 90% of the Pu dry zinc-carbon batteries and aluminum-magnesium batteries are used as household waste to landfill or incineration.

The United States is the most detailed legislation on waste battery environmental management in a country, not only established a comprehensive waste battery recycling system, and the establishment of a number of waste battery treatment plants, while unremitting publicity and education to the public, so that the public consciously support and cooperate with the waste battery recycling work.

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Pollution of waste batteries should not be ignored

With the improvement of people's living standards and the development of modern communications industry, people use batteries more and more opportunities for cell phones, pagers, Walkman, pocket radios, etc. require a large number of batteries as a power source. power supply. In the coming period, more waste batteries will appear. However, although in recent years, people are paying more and more attention to the protection of the natural ecological environment, water pollution, air pollution, white pollution and other environmental pollution control has been received to varying degrees to a certain effect, but the waste battery pollution has not attracted enough attention.

Related information shows that a battery rot in the ground, can make 1 square meter of soil permanently lose the use of value; a button battery can make 600 tons of water undrinkable, equivalent to a person's lifetime of drinking water. The natural environment is the greatest threat to the five substances, the battery contains three: mercury, lead, cadmium. If used batteries are mixed with domestic waste and landfilled together, the exuded mercury and heavy metal substances will penetrate the soil, contaminate the groundwater, and then into the fish and crops, destroying the living environment of human beings and indirectly threatening their health. How to deal with waste batteries in a timely and safe manner has become increasingly prominent in front of people.

Once the human body has absorbed these heavy metals, what illnesses will occur? According to relevant experts, mercury is a very toxic heavy metals, the human central nervous system is very destructive, this century, the fifties occurred in Japan shocked at home and abroad Minamata disease is caused by mercury pollution. At present, China's production of mercury-containing alkaline dry batteries with mercury content of 1-5%, neutral dry batteries with mercury content of 0.025%, China's battery production consumes dozens of tons of mercury every year. Cadmium in the human body is very easy to cause chronic poisoning, the main disease is emphysema, bone softening, anemia, is likely to make the body paralyzed. And lead into the body after the most difficult to excrete, it interferes with kidney function, reproductive function.

Currently, China's annual production of more than 18 billion batteries accounted for more than 30% of the world's total battery production, and the annual consumption of 7-8 billion, but the recovery rate is less than 2%.

Recycling batteries into embarrassment

Because people do not know enough about the pollution of waste batteries, the phenomenon of randomly discarded waste batteries is very serious, whether it is the city or the countryside, waste batteries can be found everywhere.

It is understood that the annual consumption of batteries in Beijing reaches more than 6,000 tons. Although in recent years on the recycling of waste batteries has attracted the attention of the relevant departments, designated a special recycling of designated units, while in schools, shopping malls, communities and other high-density population areas set up a recycling point, but the results are very little. 1998, Beijing Municipal Garbage Recycling Center *** recycling of more than 400 tons of waste batteries, the recovery rate of only 1.7%. A large number of waste batteries are discarded.

Shanghai from May 1998 to start recycling waste batteries, waste battery recycling points are also increasing year by year, so far the city has set up four or five thousand waste battery recycling points, *** recovery of more than 100 tons of waste batteries, but this is compared with the city's annual production of more than 3,000 tons of waste batteries compared with a far cry.

Hangzhou three secondary school students once through the questionnaire, visits, access to literature and other methods, with a few months to complete the "on the current situation of waste battery recycling survey and research" investigation report, the conclusion is: China's waste battery recovery rate of only 1-2%. They were shocked by the status quo that waste batteries are hazardous and poorly recycled. Three secondary school students in the survey found that nearly 80% of the public think that waste battery recycling activities "has nothing to do with their own" or "do not have time to participate in", 87% of the residents of waste batteries and household garbage together.

Because of the lack of awareness of the pollution caused by waste batteries, the phenomenon of randomly discarding waste batteries is very serious, and many people are very indifferent to the city's initiative to set up recycling bins.

Changchun city once put 200 green recycling bins for waste batteries in the city, and recovered many waste batteries. But after a period of time, part of the recycling box has become the masses throw waste "garbage cans", and some even suffered "closed" embarrassment. Changchun Department Store battery counter on both sides, placed two used battery recycling box, but the "mouth" was sealed by advertising posters. The salesman said, since the recycling box placed here, almost no one came to vote for waste batteries, we all treat it as a garbage can, throw peels, confetti, and even spit into it. They simply cleaned the recycling box and sealed the "mouth" to minimize the trouble.

Related environmental experts analyze that at present, China has not yet established a perfect and effective recycling network and system, which is a major reason for the difficulty of recycling used batteries.

Recycled batteries where to go?

Recycling is only one aspect of the problem, waste batteries can not be dealt with even if the recovery up.

Today in Dalian, 8-year-old elementary school students have begun to know that used batteries should not be thrown away. They will use their small hands to send a section of waste batteries to the school or youth palace, and some shopping malls have set up special recycling boxes. However, these recycled batteries are in an awkward situation because people don't know how to dispose of them properly.

So, Dalian Development Zone Dongtai Industrial Waste Disposal Co., Ltd. has taken up the task of recycling and storing the batteries on a voluntary basis since 1999. Dalian Development Zone Dongtai Industrial Waste Disposal Co., Ltd. a staff named Yin Guoyuan recently received a call from the Dalian University of Technology, the car from the school transported more than 2 tons of waste batteries. Yin Guoyuan told reporters that now they often deal with dozens of universities and primary and secondary schools in Dalian, to regularly go to the door to remove the waste batteries recovered. Although the technology to deal with waste batteries is not a problem now, but the treatment of waste batteries to lose money, the amount is also too small. Reporters in the landfill next to the warehouse to see the recovery of nearly 100 tons of waste batteries are still lying quietly inside.

In fact, more and more enterprises and individuals across the country are aware of the hazards of waste batteries are facing the same embarrassing situation.

In recent years, as people's awareness of environmental protection, the harm of waste batteries has gradually attracted the attention of all sectors of society, more and more people began to collect waste batteries. Environmental organizations across the country have also carried out waste battery recycling activities, calling on people to collect used waste batteries to reduce environmental pollution. However, in the craze of recycling waste batteries, it was soon realized that the recycled waste batteries could not be properly placed.

Tian Guirong, an ordinary woman in her 50s in Xinxiang City, Henan Province, was embarrassed by the 50 tons of waste batteries she had accumulated. She and her husband were the battery sales in Xinxiang City, in 1999 when she learned about the hazards of waste batteries, began to recycle waste batteries, in June 2000, when she recycled waste batteries reached 20 tons, she had sent a letter of request for help to the media: "Who can help me deal with 20 tons of waste batteries?" But two years on, Tian Guirong has yet to find a final home that won't pollute the environment, despite collecting more than 50 tons of waste batteries.

Some companies that have begun to participate in recycling waste batteries are experiencing the same embarrassment. Guangxi Guilin, a barrel water production company in the local media in June last year published "give me waste, but also your fine" advertisement, to carry out 30 old batteries for a bucket of water, 300 old batteries for a drinking fountain activities. This advertisement, only two days to recover 800 kilograms of waste batteries, 500 barrels of water, water dispensers 26 units. But they did not expect to spend more than 10,000 yuan "to buy" environmental protection but bought a pile of trouble: when they contacted the environmental protection department, the environmental protection department in the affirmative action at the same time, told them that there is no Guilin can deal with waste batteries factory, can only be prudent custody of their own recycling of waste batteries, and can not cause secondary pollution. The company had no choice but to publish an advertisement announcing the suspension of the campaign.

Some of the used batteries recovered in Beijing have filled two 20-foot-high containers, and because they have not been properly and harmlessly disposed of, they have had to lie in caves on the far outskirts of Beijing.

It is understood that, because China so far there is no one professional, able to batch treatment of waste batteries, the collection of waste batteries across the country in the region have encountered such an embarrassing problem. At present, many departments can only take the approach of piling up.

Waste battery disposal unprofitable?

According to the survey, a variety of current economic factors restricting the development of waste battery disposal industry. Waste battery processing low rate of return, long benefit cycle, it is difficult to attract investors, so it is also difficult to form an industrial scale, and no scale can not realize the benefits. 1997, Beijing began to recycle old batteries, there were seven or eight enterprises to enter the waste battery processing industry, but later were withdrawn.

In fact, the waste battery recycling industry is not unprofitable. Because used batteries contain a large number of renewable heavy metals and acids and other substances, such as through the reuse of used batteries, 40,000 tons of zinc can be renewed each year. According to South China University of Technology, Dr. Wei Chaohai estimates that, according to the daily processing of 100,000 waste batteries, after removing all kinds of costs, you can make a profit of about 20,000 yuan; 7 billion batteries, 50% of the utilization rate of calculations, the annual profit of up to more than 600 million yuan. It can be seen that the scale of operation can create benefits.

But unfortunately, at present, a large number of workshop-type small enterprises filled with waste battery recycling market, disrupting the market order. Dalian Development Zone Dongtai Industrial Waste Disposal Co., Ltd., chairman of Dong Jinqing told reporters: "Button battery recycling value is high, if you can recycle 2 tons a year, the enterprise can be put on the equipment to deal with. Now some township enterprises to see profitable, have flocked to, but due to the scale, not to do harmless treatment, resulting in serious secondary pollution."

Lack of policy support

The reporter learned in the interview, China's waste battery recycling and treatment industry is still a lack of policy support. Profit from waste battery treatment is generally reflected in two aspects: government subsidies and new products generated during the treatment process, such as zinc, manganese, mercury, etc.. The common practice in foreign countries is: the recycling of used batteries to implement the "government subsidies", that is, to deal with a ton of used batteries, the government to give the corresponding compensation. In our country, so far there is no subsidy.

It is reported that foreign recycling of used batteries in the treatment has taken a number of approaches, these practices are worth learning from our country. For example: the United States, Japan, waste batteries recycled and handed over to the enterprise processing, the government gives subsidies; South Korea's production of batteries, manufacturers, every ton of production to pay a certain amount of deposit for the recycler, the cost of the processor, and designate a special plant for processing. There are also countries on the waste battery treatment enterprises to reduce or waive taxes, etc..

When will waste batteries become treasure?

The hazards of waste batteries have gradually aroused people's **** knowledge. If we do not take timely measures, there will be more waste batteries in the future, and will produce more waste battery hazards. Therefore, the recycling of waste batteries must be treated as a major event to grasp, so that waste batteries in a timely manner, "settled", turning waste into treasure.

So, in the end, how to solve the waste battery recycling and treatment of the difficult problem? Environmental experts suggest that to fundamentally solve the problem of waste battery disposal. First, to make the treatment of waste batteries in the industrial policy track, the state should be introduced as soon as possible the relevant industry policies and laws and regulations, and the development of China's actual management methods and specific operational management and implementation of the rules. Second, in accordance with the principle of "who pollutes, who manages", the battery manufacturers levy environmental taxes, the recycling sector, the treatment sector to give subsidies. Third, we should establish a sound system of voluntary and mandatory recycling system for waste batteries as soon as possible. The establishment of voluntary recycling system can take the establishment of public **** collection facilities; the establishment of mandatory recycling system, can be taken through legislation to require producers and sellers to collect their product waste. Fourth, due to waste batteries in the transportation, storage process, may cause environmental pollution, therefore, should establish a sound waste battery transportation management system, storage management system, good transportation, storage gate, to prevent secondary pollution. Fifth, take the battery "trade-in" approach, appropriate concessions to consumers to promote the recovery of waste batteries.