You will typically get more for your old battery if it is being used as trade-in (core) against the purchase of a replacement versus trying to just turn in your old battery.
When a used lead acid battery is collected and sent back to some authorized recycling plant or facility then the lead and plastic are recovered and reused to make a new battery . Recycling of batteries leads to reduction in the amount of waste sent to landfills.
Due to the increasing demand of energy the need of lead acid batteries is increasing rapidly and is supposed to grow continuously in upcoming future. As the lead acid battery is growing there is need of proper recycling plants and techniques to minimize the amount of waste generated by these batteries if directly dumped into the environment.
The emerging automobile sector, electric vehicle industries, solar power systems and telecommunication industries require more and more lead acid battery due to their excessive growth. Therefore, lead acid batteries are in ever increasing demand in various sectors and in return its scrap also increasing day by day.
How does the recycling process of lead acid battery affect environmental pollution?
The recycling process of lead acid battery is directly linked with environmental pollution. The common environmental routes of lead exposure are dust and dirt, air, water and food. The main route of lead exposure during the recycling process of lead acid battery occurs via emission of lead into the environment.
The electrolyte from used lead acid batteries which usually contains high concentration of dissolved lead is sometimes drained out into soil and water bodied which further contaminates soil and water. Lead can enter the in the food chain by lead contaminated soil, water and air.
There are various technologies by which we recover lead from the lead acid batteries these schemes are hydrometallurgy and pyro-metallurgy. All waste disposals and their cost should be done in such a way so that Environment is not harmed. The waste management cost can be reduced changing the design of products. 1.1.