Overview
Approximately 86 per cent of the total global consumption of lead is for the production of lead-acid batteries, mainly used in motorized vehicles, storage of energy generated by photovoltaic cells and wind turbines, and for back-up power supplies (ILA, 2019). The increasing demand for motor vehicles as countries undergo economic development and growth in the use of renewable energy sources with the need for storage batteries is directly proportional to the increasing demand for lead-acid batteries (WHO, 2017). The batteries contain large amounts of lead either as solid metal or lead-oxide powder. An average battery can contain up to 10 kilograms of lead. Recycled lead is a valuable commodity for many people in the developing world, making the recovery of car batteries [known as Waste Lead-Acid Batteries (WLAB) or Used Lead-Acid Batteries (ULAB)] a viable and profitable business which is practiced in both formal and informal sectors globally.
Exposure to lead can come from releases from production, use, disposal and recycling of lead and related products (UNEP 2020).
When considering direct emissions to all environmental media, the estimated total global releases from production, use, disposal and recycling of lead and related products were up to about 4 million tonnes per year between 1970 and 2010. After the 1980s, the emissions from production and use declined, due to phase-out of petrol additives and reduced non-battery uses such as solder and pipes, whereas the emissions from waste management and recycling increased (Liang and Mao 2015). In 2010, the estimated total global emissions were about 3.6 million tonnes (about 22 per cent from production, 13 per cent from use, and 65 per cent from waste management and recycling). These amounts are equal to more than 25 per cent of the total amount of lead produced from mining in the same year (Liang and Mao 2015).
The main pathways of exposure to lead from recycling used lead acid batteries arise from environmental emissions, which occur at various stages in the improper recycling process. in many lower-income countries ULAB recycling and smelting operations are conducted in the open air, in densely populated urban areas, and often with few (if any) pollution controls. Inappropriate recycling operations release considerable amounts of lead particles and fumes emitted into the air, deposited onto soil, water bodies and other surfaces, with both environment and human health negative impacts.
Lead-acid batteries are the most widely and commonly used rechargeable batteries in the automotive and industrial sector. Irrespective of the environmental challenges it poses, lead-acid batteries have remained ahead of its peers because of its cheap cost as compared to the expensive cost of Lithium ion and nickel cadmium batteries.
Furthermore, designing green and sustainable battery systems as alternatives to conventional means remains pertinent. However, factors such as life cycle, abundance of raw materials and electrode recycling must be taken into account as they pose their own pros and cons as can be seen in the document Alternatives to lead-acid batteries.
Relevant United Nations Environment Assembly resolutions on ULAB/WLAB
Early United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) Resolutions on the Sound Management of Chemicals and Waste (1/5 and 2/7) addressed lead as part of a wider scope, but also included specific references to Lead in Paint and Waste Lead-Acid Batteries.
UNEA Resolution 3/9 focuses on “Eliminating exposure to lead paint and promoting environmentally sound management of waste lead-acid batteries” (WLABs).
In response to the above resolutions, UNEP conducted a needs assessment survey. A survey was developed and sent to 102 countries to ascertain countries status on used lead acid batteries, regulations in place, monitoring manufacturing, recycling and trade processes involved with used lead-acid batteries, as well as specific country needs to enhance and strengthen institutions to manage this issue in a more environmentally sustainable manner. From the responses from completed surveys, results showed the following needs in regions:
- Asia and the Pacific region expressed need for technical and capacity building as most required.
- Latin American region expressed more needs for monitoring system, national strategy, technical and capacity building, legislation and regulation building.
- Africa region expressed needs for monitoring system, public private partnership, technology and legislation and regulation building.
Projects
Pilot Project: Environmentally-sound Management of Used Lead-Acid Batteries in Bangladesh
Between 2020 and early 2021, UNEP undertook a pilot project in Bangladesh on recycling used lead-acid batteries (ULAB), aiming to establish the basis for environmentally sound management (ESM) of ULAB in the country through the provision of technical assistance and capacity-building activities. Lead exposure is a significant issue in Bangladesh: around 3.62 per cent of the total number of death is attributable to lead exposure (IHME, 2019) and unsound ULAB recycling practices play a key role in the exposure. Indeed, more than 80 per cent of the lead in the country is recycled through an informal network of ULAB recyclers, without consideration of the underlying health and environmental hazards. Bangladesh has more than 1,100 informal and illegal ULAB recycling operations across the country. These sites are believed to be a significant contributor to lead exposures across the country and the primary contributor to lead pollution hotspots. ULAB recycling is not fully addressed yet by the regulatory framework and the implementing measures in place.
To address this pressing issue, this project aimed to establish the basis for the ESM of ULABs in Bangladesh through the provision of technical assistance and capacity-building activities on lead. The project’s main output was to assist in drafting a national strategy on the ESM of ULAB that lays out a clear set of goals and agreed strategies that government and civil society organizations can model their future programs on.
Different key documents focusing on diverse aspects of ULAB management in Bangladesh have been drafted as part of the project to provide inputs to the national strategy.
The project was implemented by the Environmental and Social Development Organization (ESDO), a Bengalese NGO, with contributions from Pure Earth, the International Lead Association (ILA) and UNEP.
Project: Environment, Health and Pollution
UNEP, in collaboration with Pure Earth, has, through a small-scale funding project, developed a Guidance Manual for Policy Makers and Regulators for the Environmentally Sound Management of Waste or Used Lead Acid Batteries in Africa (Available in English and French). The manual provides an overview of the steps that governments and stakeholders can take to evaluate the state of WLAB management throughout the supply chain in an environmentally sound manner. It identifies strategies and tools that can help achieve these goals and objectives in Africa and it also offers an introductory framework to understand and achieve the ESM of WLABs in a particular national or regional setting.
In addition, the project also produced two national strategy documents for Burkina Faso and Tanzania, namely:
- State of Reference for the Management of Waste Lead Acid Batteries in Burkina Faso (French and English)
- Policy and Strategy Recommendations for the Environmentally Sound Management of Waste Lead Acid Batteries in Tanzania (English only)
Building on the success of European Commission’s project, UNEP Africa Office with the support of Pure Earth has concluded a project conducting a Baseline Assessment of waste lead-acid batteries collection, storage and transportation practices in Ghana. This project engaged key actors in the transportation of WLABs value chain that came up with clear systematic and sustainable methods of transportation of lead-acid batteries in Ghana.
On 13 April 2023, UNEP in collaboration with the BRS secretariat organized a webinar on Environmentally Sound Management of Waste or Used Lead Acid Batteries in Africa. The objective of the webinar was to provide a space to highlight successes, challenges and lessons learnt by:
- Disseminating the finalized Guidance Manual for Policymakers and Regulators on the Environmentally Sound Management of Waste or Used Lead Acid Batteries in Africa.
- Facilitating a multi-stakeholder and multi-sectoral dialogue on the challenges and solutions to prevent lead contamination from WLAB through a life cycle approach.
- Sharing best practices, experiences and lessons learned from work on different methods of recycling WLABs and sources of lead exposure and gathering views on key opportunities in addressing the problem of lead regionally and exploring synergies between the work of UNEP, the BRS secretariat and other key partners.
The webinar was attended by over 100 participants representing Governments, Inter-Governmental organizations, Non-Governmental organizations, Academia and various other stakeholders across Africa and beyond.
Furthermore, the Governments of Burkina Faso and Tanzania welcomed the national strategies on Environmentally Sound Management of Waste or Used Lead Acid Batteries (WLAB) developed by Pure Earth a Partner of UNEP and funded by the European Commission. The governments were appreciative of UNEP and its partners for the work done in developing strategy and recommendations document in collaboration with key stakeholders at the national level. it is expected that the national strategies will be utilized and mainstreamed with other national policy instruments.
Webinars
- Advancing work on lead: lessons learned from the work on lead in gasoline, lead in paint and used lead-acid batteries - 25 October 2022
- The Sustainable and Environmentally Sound Management of Used Lead Acid Batteries in Latin America and the Caribbean - 23 October 202
- Gestión Ambientalmente Racional de Baterías de Plomo Ácido Usadas (BAPU) en la región de América Latina y el Caribe - 8 October 2020
Events
- A lifecycle approach to tackling Waste or Used Lead Acid Batteries, Side event at BRS COPs 2022 – June 2022
- Updates on the Environmentally Sound Management of Used Lead Acid Batteries, Side event at BRS COPs 2019 - May 2019
- Lead-Acid Batteries, Activities at UNEA 4 - March 2019
- Regional Workshop on the Environmentally Sound Management of Used Lead Acid Batteries, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso - July 2017
- Regional Workshop on the Environmentally Sound Management of Used Lead Acid Batteries, Guatemala City, Guatemala - February 2016
- Workshop on Sound Management of Used Lead Acid Batteries, Osaka, Japan - November 2015
Further information
The Secretariat of the Basel Convention is also working on used lead-acid batteries. The following documents are available to download on their website:
