PAKISTAN’s rooftop solar transition over the last few years has been remarkable.
It is time we paid due attention to the other half of this phenomenon. Lithium-ion storage batteries have limited life and need periodic replacement. Pakistan currently has no dedicated framework for collecting or disposing of them. This matters because lithium batteries are not like the old dry-cell batteries households used to throw away. Regulatory bodies abroad classify them as hazardous waste. They are prone to fires and contain toxic metals and non-biodegradable components that can leach into soil and water if dumped with routine trash. Rag-pickers, sanitation workers and children who come into contact with discarded or damaged cells face direct exposure risks.
The European Union’s battery regulation obliges producers to fund collection and recycling, with collection targets rising to 63 per cent ofportable batteriesby 2027 and 73pc by 2030, and a mandatory 50pc lithium recovery rate by 2027, rising to 80pc by 2031. The United States manages spent lithium batteries under federal hazardous-waste and ‘universal waste’ rules, requiring certified collection points ratherthan trash disposal.
There is no comparable law in Pakistan.
As millions of households and businesses install solar-plus-battery systems, the government, environmental protection agencies and provincial authorities need to urgently frame rules for collection points, producer and importer responsibility, and licensed recycling, before the first massive wave of depleted lithium batteries reaches our landfills and informal scrap markets.
Shoaib Siddiqui Karachi