AMMAN — An increased demand for imported hybrid
and electric vehicles in the Kingdom has resulted in a noticeable rise in the
need for batteries, which prompted calls by environmentalists to exercise
caution when disposing of the used cells.
اضافة اعلان
Hussien Al Kisswani, a
climate change and energy
specialist, explained the mechanism of dispensing with electric batteries,
highlighting that the global protocol dictates “either to reuse them in other
activities like solar heaters, or recycle them”.
“But in Jordan, we resort to discarding them in
landfills like Swaqa; which is allocated for dangerous waste,” he noted.
He said that the Swaqa landfill “is not equipped to
deal with damaged or expired electric car batteries, which leads to lithium
leaking into the environment, and (the batteries)n may even explode, if exposed
to extreme heat”.
“Jordan lacks the technical capabilities to reuse
the old batteries,” he told
Jordan News. He said one way is to recharge
and reuse the batteries in solar heaters for household purposes, but warned of
the risk of the batteries exploding, if not handled professionally.
Amman hybrid car mechanic Omar Nayef said that there
is “no government control over combatting the hazards of damaged, or expired
eclectic car batteries”.
He said since there are no clear guidelines to
dispose of the electric batteries, mechanic shops are often puzzled how to
discard them.
“The explosion risk is very low, but the leakage of
Lithium and nickel is dangerous”, he told
Jordan News.
Secretary-General of the
Ministry of Environment
Mohammad Al-Khashashneh said that there is a “mechanism for importing
batteries, so that they are imported for personal use only and belong to the
same vehicle in which it was imported”.
Khashashneh added that the owner of the vehicle must
“submit a personal pledge to return the battery after its expiration date, so
that it can be disposed of in a safe way in Swaqa landfill.”
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