• Thursday, March 28, 2024
businessday logo

BusinessDay

Non-compliance to used battery regulations by telecom operators negatively impacts environment – ARBR

Non-compliance to used battery regulations by telecom operators negatively impacts environment – ARBR

Terseer Ugbor, Managing Director and Executive Secretary, Alliance for Responsible Battery Recycling (ARBR), has urged telecom operators in Nigeria to desist from exposing the environment to lead and strong acids from waste batteries to eliminate the dangers to the environment and human health.
This is contained in a statement issued in Abuja, signed by Ada Achanya, head of Press, ARBR.

The statement said that non-compliance with the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) guidelines for battery disposal by telecom operators is creating a weak link leading to poor environmental management of Lead Acid and Lithium-Ion Batteries.

It emphasised that improper battery disposal contributes to water and air pollution, adding that when used batteries are handled by unqualified persons or organisations, they contaminate ground and surface water and this has adverse effects on human health.

Read also: Telecom sector sees first voice subscriber decline in 5 years

According to it, proper battery recycling was important to environmental health.
The statement also noted that ATC Nigeria, a leading Telecom service provider had declined compliance to the EPR guidelines by refusing to provide data on how its used batteries are disposed and also declining to pay recycling fees on the disposal of hazardous waste batteries in the country.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that ARBR is the Producer Responsibility Organisation (PRO) licensed by NESREA with the responsibility of minimising the environmental impact of batteries throughout the entire value chain including end-of-life management.

The Federal Ministry of Environment and the National Environmental Standards And Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) have recently passed the National Policy on Waste Battery Management and the National Environmental (Battery Control) Regulations.