American Chamber of Commerce In Taipei - Reducing Pollution and Municipal Waste Through Battery Recycling

Reducing Pollution and Municipal Waste Through Battery Recycling

The low level of recycling of household batteries " currently estimated at less than 17% of the approximately 200 million units disposed of per year " is one of the major environmental problems confronting Taiwan. If simply thrown away in the trash, the batteries will either end up in a landfill, where toxic chemicals may leach into the soil or water, or in an incinerator, causing those toxins to be released into the atmosphere, to return to earth as acid rain.

The problem has been growing as the population consumes an ever larger volume of batteries in popular appliances and in communications and entertainment devices. As a result, AmCham's Environmental Protection Committee this year included the need for greater battery recycling among its priority Taiwan White Issues. The committee has called for steps to:
- Heighten citizen awareness of the need for recycling of all types of used household batteries.
- Create sufficient recycling volume to encourage the development of domestic recycling facilities (for lack of economies of scale, used batteries must now be exported to the United States or France for treatment to retrieve the component materials).
- Reduce overall battery consumption, and therefore the volume of waste, by reminding consumers to use longer-lasting alkaline batteries instead of the conventional zinc-carbon types that now account for about 65% of the market.

To help to promote those objectives, the government's Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) has encouraged the manufacturers of batteries and of devices that use batteries to create an organization that can represent the industry in interacting with both government and the public. Industry responded this autumn with establishment of the Digital Group, whose charter members consist of Duracell battery, IBM, Motorola, Mr. Battery, Olympus, and PC Office magazine. Additional corporate members are now being recruited.

AmCham's Environmental Protection Committee is working closely with the Digital Group and the EPA in the effort to tackle the problem of battery-induced pollution. Andrew Houlberg, the Duracell representative in Taiwan and co-chair of the Environmental Protection Committee, is serving as the Chamber's liaison with the new organization.

One of the first undertakings of the Digital Group is to arrange for a booth in December at the heavily attended Information Month exhibition at the Taipei World Trade Center. President Chen Shui-bian is scheduled to make an appearance at the stand to help lend publicity to the cause. The Group will then follow up with other events designed to raise public consciousness, while at the same time, various individual company members are running special promotions to encourage battery recycling.

Another goal is to increase the number of places where used batteries may be discarded for proper handling. Currently Taipei City garbage trucks have special receptacles for batteries, and bins for used batteries have been installed in many schools. In addition, under a new law to take effect January 1, retail outlets that sell batteries or battery-powered devices will be required to accept used batteries for recycling. "The Digital Group is helping make the retail trade aware of the law and to assist them with the recycling process," said Tim Boyle, general manager of Mr. Battery. Office and residential buildings may also be approached to place bins in their lobbies.

"We hope that through our efforts, the recycling rate before too long can reach at least 30% of the total," noted Andrew Houlberg. That would provide a critical mass enabling private enterprise to set up downstream extraction operations in Taiwan, creating business opportunities on the island instead of simply exporting the waste.

And if consumers can be educated about the advantages of using long-lasting alkaline batteries " which over the life of the battery are calculated to be two to three times more economical to use than zinc-carbon types " the quantity of waste batteries to be contended with could be decreased by as much as 50%.

"Many people are concerned about the environment but don't know how they can contribute," says Houlberg. "Battery recycling and significantly reducing waste by using long-lasting alkaline batteries is something that everyone can, and should, do."

A message from the Environmental Protection Committee
American Chamber of Commerce in Taipei