Electric Vehicle Battery Waste: A Greater Imminent Threat Than Greenhouse Emissions? An Analysis Of Legislative Gaps And Environmental Impacts
- IJLLR Journal
- May 1
- 2 min read
Triulokhnath, VIT School of Law-Chennai
Polluting the Future: Why Lithium Battery Disposal May Outweigh Fossil Fuel Emissions
The global shift to electric vehicles (EVs) is generally viewed as a vital shift to help mitigate climate change and improve urban air quality. A central technology in this transition are Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), which are energy-dense and rechargeable battery technology for EVs. However, the improvement in clean technology also leads to an emerging crisis with the potential to rival - and potentially exceed, in some localized contexts - the pollution caused by fossil fuel dependency: the improper disposal and recycling of LIBs. The improper disposal and recycling of used LIBs represents a multifaceted environmental challenge. Improper recycling practices, often informal in nature - such as open burning and the application of acid baths, which are being more common in the Global South, release persistent organic pollutants (POPs), heavy metals, and other harmful toxicological health hazards harming the environment. These form of toxicological health hazards impacts the environment by leaching into the soil and into water resources, damaging land and/or water quality. Even a single battery can amount to pollution at a larger scale and this impact multiplies exponentially when scaled to EV battery disposal.
Though well-established emissions metrics exist for fossil fuels, emissions from LIB waste are more difficult to quantify, but dire. Fossil fuels mostly cause emissions to the atmosphere - carbon dioxide and particulates - while lithium battery waste contaminates the lithosphere and hydrosphere. While this "pollution" is less visible, it lasts longer, has a longer half-life and an irreversible process. Toxic metals, including cobalt, nickel, and manganese, leach into ecosystems and remain for decades, resulting in potentially long-term harm to biodiversity and humans.
