"Dispose of Portable Chargers in Used Battery Boxes"…Strengthening Promotion for Homes and Businesses

Ministry of Environment Distributes Promotional Materials on Proper Separation and Disposal of Waste Batteries

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] The Ministry of Environment is strengthening the promotion of proper separation and disposal of waste batteries, including rechargeable auxiliary batteries. This is to prevent fire and explosion hazards occurring at waste sorting facilities and to activate recycling.

The Ministry of Environment will distribute promotional materials on the separation and disposal of waste batteries to local governments nationwide starting from the 10th, to establish proper separation and disposal of waste batteries in daily life.

The promotional materials include instructions to separate batteries embedded in toys and small appliances disposed of at home and to dispose of them in dedicated waste battery collection boxes. Laptop batteries and rechargeable auxiliary batteries can also be disposed of in dedicated waste battery collection boxes.

Waste batteries generated at workplaces should be disposed of in consultation with local governments, and to prevent the leakage of hazardous substances, wiring attached to the batteries should not be removed but disposed of as is.

Since September this year, the Ministry of Environment has signed business agreements with 10 basic local governments nationwide and is implementing a "Rechargeable Auxiliary Battery Recycling Pilot Project." The Korea Environment Corporation conducted a mid-term inspection last month to understand the process from separation and disposal to recycling in the pilot project.

During the separation and disposal process, a total of 55.8 tons of waste batteries were collected from local governments, and among them, 0.15 tons of rechargeable auxiliary batteries were sorted in four local governments and delivered to recycling companies.

In the recycling process, recycling companies discharge the rechargeable auxiliary batteries, then crush them to separate valuable metals such as black powder, aluminum, and copper.

The Ministry of Environment plans to conduct the pilot project until December this year, and after analyzing the results, establish an effective collection and recycling system for rechargeable auxiliary batteries. Additionally, through gathering opinions from producers and other stakeholders, it will prepare systematic and stable institutional improvement measures such as the introduction of the Producer Responsibility Recycling System (EPR).

Lee Young-gi, Director of the Resource Circulation Policy Division at the Ministry of Environment, said, "Proper separation and disposal of waste batteries must be preceded to create safe waste treatment conditions and lead a resource circulation society."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.