Bangladesh needs a market-based approach involving battery tracking, financial incentives and stronger regulation to tackle unsafe lead-acid battery recycling, researchers and policymakers said recently.
They said around 80 percent of used lead-acid batteries are currently processed through informal and illegal facilities, creating serious public health, environmental and economic risks.
The challenge is not only to stop unsafe recycling but also to build a system where batteries are properly tracked, safely recycled and managed through a responsible circular economy, they said at a seminar titled “Evidence to Action: Economic and Policy Pathways for a Safer Lead-Acid Battery Circular Economy in Bangladesh”.
Presenting a new policy study at a city hotel, Prof Erica Plambeck of Stanford University said informal recyclers dominate the sector because they avoid taxes, environmental compliance costs and regulatory requirements.
She said Bangladesh’s rapidly growing electric three-wheeler sector has created huge demand for lead-acid batteries. But weak management of used batteries has allowed informal recycling networks to expand, leading to unsafe smelting and increased lead pollution.
Millions of easy bikes and e-rickshaws depend on lead-acid batteries, and their limited lifespan means a large volume of used batteries enters the recycling chain every year, she said.
