How successful is battery recycling in the
US today?
According to statistics maintained by the Battery
Council International, more than 98 percent of all spent lead
acid batteries are recycled. This achievement far exceeds the
recycling efforts of any other product, including paper, aluminum,
or glass.
What are the environmental consequences
of the recycling effort?
Imagine the environmental damage that might be caused by improperly
discarding 18 pounds of lead, two pounds of plastic, and a gallon
of acid, i.e., the contents of a lead acid battery. Now imagine
that damage compounded by 80,000,000, the number of lead acid
batteries available for recycling each year in the United States.
The safe recycling of these batteries by members of the ABR prevents
enormous potential environmental dangers. This recycling effort
also preserves valuable limited resources by reducing the demand
for virgin materials by nearly one million tons, annually.
How much lead is consumed in the U.S. annually?
In 1999, primary and secondary smelters in the United States
produced 1,450,000 tons of lead. Secondary smelters (recyclers)
produced 1,100,000 tons, or more than 75 percent of the total
refined lead produced in 1999. For the year 2001, estimates are
that secondary smelters will produce almost 80 percent of the
total domestic lead production.
What are the principal uses of lead in the
United States?
The principal use of lead is for the manufacture of storage batteries
such as automotive batteries. Over 80 percent of the total domestic
lead production is used in new battery manufacturing.
What happens
to the acid in a spent battery?
In at least one facility, acid removed from batteries during
the recycling process is reprocessed and used in the manufacture
of new batteries. In some facilities, the acid is filtered and
is suitable for use in fertilizers and the manufacture of chemicals,
replacing virgin sulfuric acid. Some facilities desulfurize the
acid and convert it to salable byproducts. Excess acid is neutralized
by the lead recycling industry.
What about
the plastic case and cover of the spent battery?
This material is a copolymer of polypropylene that is recyclable.
After processing, the plastic is used to produce, among other
things, new battery cases and covers. This material competes with
virgin polypropylene in the marketplace.
