It’s estimated that 99 percent of vehicle batteries are recycled. But that missing 1 percent represents two million batteries, Now a new coalition of vehicle battery manufacturers, recyclers and retailers has launched an effort to recover two million more batteries with the goal of achieving a recycling rate of 100 percent.
The campaign, dubbed the “2 Million Battery Challenge,” is an effort to engage consumers to bring their used vehicle batteries to the nearest participating auto parts retailer to have them properly recycled.
A Charleston native, Pat Hayes, has been chosen as the executive director of the Responsible Battery Coalition (RBC), the organization leading the year-long campaign. In Charleston, Hayes is remembered as a star quarterback at the former Stonewall Jackson High School. He went on to earn a degree in mechanical engineering at West Virginia University.
Before taking charge of the new battery recycling campaign, Hayes worked for Procter & Gamble in Cincinnati and S.C. Johnson in Milwaukee.
“The latest automotive industry research shows 12 percent of consumers still have a dead or unusable vehicle battery at home in a garage or old vehicle and not in the closed recycling loop,” Hayes said. “That’s enough batteries to equal the weight of 1,000 semi-trucks or enough to line the length of 8,000 football fields.”
Hayes noted the new recycling coalition is working closely with the National Alternative Fuels Training Consortium at WVU.
Ramon Sanchez, Ph.D., of the Harvard University School of Public Health and chair of the Responsible Battery Coalition’s Science Advisory Board, calls the recycling of vehicle batteries “one of the great achievements in protecting public and environmental health.”
“With 99 percent of the vehicle batteries in North America currently being recycled, we are reducing pollution including the greenhouse emissions caused from sourcing new battery materials.” Sanchez said. “Getting the remaining two million batteries recycled will make this positive impact even better.”
The new campaign was officially launched Feb. 13 in Washington, DC at a hearing called by the Senate Auto Caucus. Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, co-chair of the caucus, commended the coalition’s members for their environmental stewardship.
To read the full story, visit https://www.wvnews.com/news/wvnews/charleston-native-heading-new-battery-recycling-effort/article_b7d90015-784f-56b5-85dd-3c38d3cff099.html.