India’s booming lead battery recyclers
ILA’s Lisa Allen visited member company Gravita India to see firsthand how the recycler is helping set the standard for lead battery recycling across the subcontinent.
By Lisa Allen, Director of Regulatory Affairs
Just 40 km south of the Pink City of Jaipur, Rajasthan, sits Gravita India’s Phagi plant. One of the company’s 13 lead battery recycling plants, it’s a sign of India’s thriving lead battery value chain, managed by a company that wants to see the growth of safe and sustainable lead battery recycling in India and beyond.
I’ve just spent a week in India, first as a presenter at ILZDA’s conference Lead & Lead Batteries – Crafting A Green Future in Delhi, meeting battery producers, recyclers, and other industry stakeholders, and visiting ILA member company Gravita India in Jaipur.
Gravita’s Phagi plant provides sustainable recycling services for used lead batteries and aluminium scrap to Rajasthan and the surrounding areas. Employing 450 staff and operating 24/7, the site has a recycling capacity of more than 50,000 tonnes per year, producing pure lead and lead alloys, recycled polypropylene and ABS, red lead oxide, and a range of value added products including lead shot for ballast and lead sheet and lead powder for radiation shielding applications.
The company is proud of its values towards its staff, on environmental protection, quality and emissions controls, and its charitable work in the local community. Implementation of SOPs, process automation, and remote monitoring and reporting were all readily apparent throughout my site tour. Automated air pollution control systems complement the site’s on-site wastewater management programme, a set-up designed to see all process water pH-balanced, treated, and returned to the process and minimise air emissions. Green gardens surround the facility, an industrial colony supporting worker wellbeing – from accommodation and rest areas, medical services, nutritional meals – not least the local water chestnuts and buttermilk! – and sports facilities – volleyball, but perhaps surprisingly, at least to me, no cricket.
I’m not giving any trade secrets away. Executive Director Vijay Pareek explains that he welcomes other lead battery recyclers to visit the factory – the fundamental process is the same, he tells me, but he hopes his company can help others implement best practices to ensure the safe and sustainable recycling of lead batteries. Learning from seeing, not just from being told what to do, is a great way to spread best practice.
It’s estimated that 30% of the used lead battery ‘market’ in India is handled by the informal sector. Illegal smelting, but also poorly managed practices at some recycling facilities, negatively impact commercial operations, the domestic circular economy, environmental health – and negatively influence the reputation of the whole lead battery value chain globally. These factors are key drivers behind the Lead Battery 360 initiative, one of the key topics I presented at the ILZDA conference on 3 December.
Responsible sourcing, EHS performance, and societal responsibility – upheld by independent verification of performance against the objectives – these are the themes of LB360’s 7 Guiding Principles, and the 66 Performance Expectations against which participating sites are audited. I encourage all lead battery producers and recyclers alike to sign up and be recognised as Participants on the website and then to work towards LB360 Certification in 2025.More information: [email protected]
