A common question that often comes to mind regarding electric vehicles and hybrids concerns the disposal of the batteries and whether we are just creating another problem while attempting to solve another. Disposal is just one of multiple potential issues related to car batteries, which also include emissions from battery charging and human rights concerns related to their manufacturing.
Battery Disposal
Conventional vehicles use lead-acid batteries. Due to the fact that these batteries contain lead, which is a carcinogen and very harmful to the environment, a large proportion of them are recycled. Even so, tens of thousands of tons of lead are lost to landfills each year or released into the environment during the mining and manufacturing process.
Batteries used in more recent hybrid and electric vehicles are typically lithium ion batteries. Lithium ion batteries are also mostly recyclable, though their rate of being recycled is far below that of lead-acid batteries. This is partially due to the fact that lead is a much more toxic heavy metal than lithium, though lithium ion batteries also contain small amounts of other toxic heavy metals such as cobalt and nickel. One big advantage of lithium-ion batteries is that they have considerably longer lifetimes; when purchasing a hybrid or electric vehicle the battery is often guaranteed to at least 10 to 12 years. A big disadvantage here is the fact that once you are out of the warranty period, the cost of replacing a lithium ion battery can be several thousands of dollars.
You should also recall that lithium-ion batteries are used in many other types of devices, such as cell phones, laptops, tablets, vacuums, power tools, appliances, toys, electronics, etc. Though such batteries are much smaller in size than those used in hybrids and EVs, they are often overlooked during the disposal of whatever device in which they are contained. In any case, a used lithium ion battery from a vehicle can be recycled by contacting the auto dealer from which you purchased your vehicle.
Emissions from Battery Charging
Electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles need to be plugged into a 120-volt or 240-volt source in order to maintain a full charge. When purchasing such a vehicle, the emissions caused by the use of electricity to charge these vehicles is often overlooked. If you live in a region where a majority of your electricity comes from renewable sources such as solar and/or wind (e.g. California and Plains states) or if you have your own solar panels or have bought into a solar farm, this is not an issue. But if you live in a region that still relies heavily on fossil fuels for energy (e.g. those states in the Southeast served by Duke Energy and Southern Company) and are not using energy that comes directly from solar panels or a solar farm, emissions created by charging your vehicle may cause your EV to produce as much if not more emissions than a standard gas-powered vehicle. For more details on a study that considered this issue in more detail, please refer to Page 19 of the following report: https://afdc.energy.gov/files/u/publication/ev_emissions_impact.pdf.
Objective
For more information on the disposal of lithium ion batteries used not only for vehicles but also for a wide range of other applications, visit the EPA’s website at https://www.epa.gov/recycle/used-lithium-ion-batteries.
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