Impact
The blended factor. Use it when the stream is not sorted.
By recycling 21 kg of batteries, you reduce impacts on:
32
kg CO2-eq avoided
0.5
Trees planted, equivalent
One medium-growth tree seedling grown for 10 years stores about 60 kg of CO2, as estimated by the US EPA.
32 / kg CO2-eq
Recycling avoids the greenhouse gases released when metals are mined, shipped and refined from ore, easing the climate pressure Africa bears while emitting the least.
378 / MJ
Mining and refining virgin metals burns diesel and coal at every stage, energy Africa largely imports. Recycling delivers the same metals for a fraction of that cost.
42 / g PM2.5-eq
Fine particles reach deep into the lungs and drive respiratory disease across fast-motorising cities. Formal recycling avoids smelters and open battery waste burning.
1,050 / litres-eq
Mining and mineral processing are thirsty industries, and many African river basins are already stretched. Recycling recovers metals without drawing new ground water.
13 / g C2H4-eq
Ground-level ozone forms when pollutants react with heat and strong sunlight, leaving equatorial cities highly prone to smog. Recycling cuts the emissions feeding it.
53 / g Sb-eq
Antimony equivalence measures mineral depletion. Africa exports its cobalt and copper yet imports its batteries. Recycling keeps those minerals moving in circulation.
Factors are indicative averages drawn from published life-cycle assessments of lithium-ion battery recycling, using the avoided-burden method. Meters show your weight against a 100 kg reference. Actual savings vary by battery chemistry, recycling route and grid mix.
Figures are indicative, drawn from published life-cycle assessments using the avoided-burden method: the impact of virgin mining, refining and manufacturing that recovering the same materials avoids. They show the scale of what recycling saves, not a certified footprint for a specific batch. Actual savings vary by battery chemistry, recycling route and grid mix. Summer-smog gains in particular depend on the recycling route.
