Bangladesh needs a market-based approach involving battery tracking, fi nancial 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.