Technical group to be formed to guide lead battery recycling protocol

A special technical group is set to be established to review and update the guidelines regarding the responsible recycling of lead batteries.

The decision was made at the 15^th meeting of the Conference of the Parties of the Basel Convention in Geneva, which discussed the need to update the existing technical guidelines for the safe and environmentally sound recycling of used lead batteries.

The group will also review the need to introduce and prepare guidelines for responsibly recycling other battery technologies.

The Basel convention’s secretariat approved the International Lead Association’s (ILA) request to nominate Brian Wilson— who is a special advisor to ILA— to provide technical assistance to the working group.

The Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm conventions are multilateral environmental agreements for the sound management of wastes.

Brian Wilson said: “There was universal support for the request to update the technical guidance for lead battery recycling. And the technical contact group also noted differences between batteries in terms of their management, recycling and safe disposal including the fact that technologies for disposing of, or recycling lithium-ion batteries are still emerging.”

Dr Steve Binks, ILA regulatory affairs director, said: “This is an important part of our ongoing commitment to safe and responsible battery recycling in low and middle-income countries. The Basel technical guidelines are the recognised standard and ILA will now contribute to updating them.”

Last month, ILA was one of four battery associations that joined the Protecting Every Child’s Potential (PECP) initiative that aims to eradicate childhood lead exposure in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) where capacities, including regulatory, are often absent.