logo
episode-header-image
Aug 2023
23m 48s

A billion batteries

Bbc World Service
About this episode

Fourteen-year-old Sri Nihal Tammana is on a mission to prevent billions of batteries going to landfill. After watching devastating fires cause by discarded lithium-ion batteries, the kind of batteries found in most modern consumer electronics, he decided to set up a not--for-profit organisation called Recycle my Battery. They have set up recycle points in shops and local businesses, evangelised about the importance of recycling batteries in schools and local temples and have partnered with the largest non-profit battery recycling company in north America, Call2Recycle.

Up next
Today
Love on trial: India's age of consent controversy
Set against the backdrop of one of the world’s toughest child protection laws, Brishbhanu Baruah explores how India’s landmark Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (Pocso) is reshaping the lives of young people. Introduced after the 2012 Delhi gang rape, Pocso has been ... Show More
26m 44s
May 2
Mapping Epstein's global connections
The personal correspondence, photographs and papers of the late convicted sex offender and financier Jeffrey Epstein have been released to the public in stages, beginning in December 2025, after an almost unanimous vote in the US Senate. The released files run to three and a half ... Show More
26m 29s
Apr 25
Inside the Mugabe dynasty
Late Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe died in 2019, but in the years before and since his death, his three children with his former wife, Grace, consistenly made headlines for all the wrong reasons. In April 2026 Bellarmine Mugabe pled guilty to a firearms offence in South Afri ... Show More
26m 29s
Recommended Episodes
Nov 2023
The powerful possibilities of recycling the world's batteries | Emma Nehrenheim
The world has plenty of clean energy. The problem is storing that energy and getting it where we need it, when we need it, says battery recycling pioneer Emma Nehrenheim. While batteries are fundamental to powering a sustainable future, their production is surprisingly harsh on t ... Show More
9m 57s
Jan 2024
The powerful possibilities of recycling the world's batteries | Emma Nehrenheim
The world has plenty of clean energy. The problem is storing that energy and getting it where we need it, when we need it, says battery recycling pioneer Emma Nehrenheim. While batteries are fundamental to powering a sustainable future, their production is surprisingly harsh on t ... Show More
12m 36s
May 2021
The dirty business of old car batteries
The recycling of lead acid batteries poses a growing health hazard in many developing countries.Vivienne Nunis looks at the case of Bangladesh, where a cottage industry has sprung up all over the country, with old car and auto-rickshaw batteries being burned in unsafe conditions, ... Show More
18m 28s
Jul 2024
Lithium-ion Batteries
Lithium-ion batteries are found everywhere, from watches to power tools to e-bikes and electric cars. But perhaps you've heard a thing or two about these batteries that make you unsure. This week, Casey and Sara discuss some of the environmental, social justice, and safety issues ... Show More
1h 6m
Jun 2021
Batteries: The bedrock of the sustainable future
In this special podcast produced in partnership with Waters Corporation, find out how understanding the chemistry and materials that go into batteries marks the first step towards making them safer and increasing energy density, and unlocks new opportunities for reuse and recycli ... Show More
21m 33s
Mar 2024
Supercharging Lithium-Ion Batteries with Gene Berdichevsky of Sila Nanotechnologies
Gene Berdichevsky and his team have been working for over a decade to solve a major problem: Lithium-ion batteries are not getting any better. They power our cell phones and laptops and nearly every other modern, rechargeable device—and at this point have reached their energy-sto ... Show More
40m 9s
Mar 2022
Une batterie (Battery)
<p>Texte:<br> Sony a révélé en 2012 une batterie prototype qui convertit les vieux papiers en électricité, suffisamment pour alimenter un petit ventilateur.</p> <p>Traduction:<br> Sony showed off in 2012 a prototype battery that converts waste paper into enough electricity to pow ... Show More
2m 51s
Apr 2024
The world of battery recycling
The lithium-ion battery business is taking off, and the battery recycling business is close behind. Financiers are pouring over a billion dollars into recycling companies like Redwood Materials, Ascend Elements, and Li-Cycle. But success depends on a steady supply of used batteri ... Show More
36m 45s