SriRamulu Modadugula (Board director of the International Expansion Team at Recycle My Battery) The earth is a unique planet in many ways, one of the prominent ways being that it harbors life. This planet is as much of other beings as us humans, yet for enerations now we have exploited the planet for our benefit.
At first it was just our need for ustenance, like any other organism on this planet, we were aiming for survival. Slowly with times, our needs became wants and our wants became greed. And as Gandhi once said, ‘The world has enough for everyone's needs, but not everyone's greed.’
USA is currently ranked second in carbon emissions (5107.39 Metric tons) with a per capita emission of 13.68 tons per year. It is also ranked at number two for battery usage percentage at 6.2%, right after China! India follows behind closely both in terms of our carbon emissions in Metric tons (2454.77) as well as our battery consumption and emission rates.
In spite of influx of rechargeable and electric batteries we have a long way to go in terms of bringing down the statistics to a sustainable level. Improper disposal of these batteries contribute to contamination of soil, water and air as millions of batteries end up in a landfill or in the ocean every year. It is also one of the leading causes for wildfires across the globe.
While awareness is the key to reducing our impact individually, these are times that also call for a collective action. Recycle My Battery founded by Sri Nihal Tammana and Mihir Tammana is a non-profit organization founded, chaired and run by the leaders of tomorrow that helps the people of New Jersey dispose their household and community battery waste by providing them with battery bins. These battery bins are periodically sorted and directed for recycling by the organization following proper protocols and safety measures.
The Indian chapter of Recycle My Battery is also doing its bit in bringing awareness with regards to the ill-effects of improper disposal of batteries. India is an agrarian economy. We are one of the largest producers of wheat, rice, cotton, pulses and spices. Improper disposal of batteries leads to erosion of soil and increases toxicity in crops, plants and water bodies in turn causing harm to animals and human beings alike. Recycle my Battery in India is tying up with non-profits, corporates, communities and schools to run campaigns and create awareness in all sections of society. With the right awareness programs Recycle My Battery also aiming to diminish the usage of disposal batteries, encouraging people to reduce, reuse and recycle. This will hopefully, also decrease the demand of minerals such as zinc and magnesium and substantially reduce the scale of mining and its harmful effects. The organization also plans to design an outreach program in the future in association with leading battery manufacturing and recycling companies across the nation.
"A small collective daring to make big changes, Recycle My Battery has also been successful in moving a petition on the website Change.Org, which aims at passing the required laws necessary in the state of New Jersey necessitating battery manufacturers to pay up for the cost of proper battery disposal and recycling. It is their aim to bring about law reforms not just in the state of New Jersey but across the globe one battery at a time.
The author is the board director of the International Expansion Team at Recycle My Battery. A student at Jain International School Bangalore, SriRamulu Modadugula is passionate about environment conservation and identifies as a climate change activist. He believes in being part of the solution with the help of innovation, information and technology."