Pilas are used to generate energy has portable devices such as calculators, watches, remote controls, flashlights, electronic instruments, etc. These make the operation of these devices possible, grace for chemical energy to become electrical energy, thus maintaining a constant potential difference and generating a small voltage. However, when the useful life of a stack ends, it is transformed into waste that if they are not well managed and are discarded in home garbage, they become a threat to the environment since the metals that compose it are highly toxic.
If you want to know how long the batteries take to decompose or what to do with the batteries used so that they do not contaminate, do not stop reading this interesting Ecology article where it will be explained in detail from detail how long does a battery take to degrade until its impact on the environment, how it is recycled and that is done with recycled batteries.
How long does it take to degrade a battery
It is estimated that the degradation time of a stack It is understood Between 500 and 1000 yearsonce these begin to decompose the protective layer that covers all the heavy metals that make up the batteries, and then these metals are released being very toxic and dangerous for the environment and all the types of life that are part of it.
Some of the metals that can be found in the composition of the batteries are lead, chromium, mercury, zinc, arsenic, cadmium, among others. The most polluting metal is Mercury.
Impact of batteries on the environment
The Pile degradation In home garbage, or in natural fields, it has as a consequence Great impacts for the environment:
- A single button battery, that is, that small stack that is usually used for the operation of objects such as a clock, is within the most harmful and pollutant batteries for the environment. It is estimated, that a single can contaminate all the water that forms the volume of an Olympic pool.
- The batteries that end in landfills or natural environments are slowly decomposing until the protective layer that surrounds all the heavy metals that compose it is destroyed. These are released and distributed by the natural environment through the water cycle, thus contaminating all bodies of water such as seas, rivers and aquifers and also soils.
- If the batteries are incinerated, they will be much more toxic, because cadmium and mercury, among other metals, when entering combustion they become large generated by greenhouse gases.
- They also have a detrimental effect for life, since these metals end up entering the food chain, since the bodies of water and soil are contaminated so that all those foods that grow in crops can be contaminated by having subsequently consequences in health affecting the lungs, kidneys, being able to cause the loss of vision and deafness. In addition, metals can accumulate in the placenta of pregnant women having harmful effects on the brain of neonates.
We recommend you read this other post about what the environmental impact is.
Why it is important to recycle batteries
There are many types and varieties of batteries that can be found, but they all have in common that much of the materials that compose them are Heavy metals. These metals are Toxic for any type of life and for the environment.
This is why good management and recycling of them will avoid environmental deterioration, as well as they will no longer be a danger to living beings.
How to recycle batteries
Once the useful life of a stack has ended, this It cannot be discarded in home garbagebut you will have to deposit in a Specific container for batteries or take it to a Clean point and, subsequently, they will be managed according to their typology and recycled. Clean points can be found both in towns and cities and specific containers are very common in some businesses such as pharmacies, supermarkets, etc.
We encourage you to read this other post about why it is important to recycle.
What is done with recycled batteries
To avoid the Pilas contaminationthese must be recycled. Once the batteries reach the recycling plant, there are different processes to perform it, but in general everyone is based on the separation of metals and the rest of the materials that make up the batteries. In this way, pure metals are over that can be used for the manufacture of new batteries.
For example, in the Recycling of an alkaline batterywhich is one of the most used, they separate:
- The protective label and steel tube: which is recycled as steel scrap for new steel.
- Zinc and manganese dioxide: They are recycled together to obtain new raw material for the metallurgical industry.
- Closing and Collection Part: It is recycled as steel scrap for new steel.
We recommend you read this other article on how to recycle batteries and watch this video about the theme of the recycling of the batteries.
If you want to read more articles similar to How long does a battery take to degradewe recommend that you enter our recycling and waste management category.
