Managing Used Lead Acid Batteries in India: Evaluation of EPR-DRS Approaches

India has a well-defined deposit refund system (DRS) based on the principles of extended producer responsibility (EPR) for recycling used lead acid batteries (ULABs). However, the presence of an informal sector and lack of monitoring have resulted in an ineffective system of recycling mainly driven by the interests of the informal sector.

The present study attempts to understand the existing recycling mechanism and comparatively analyses a base case and three alternative scenarios developed taking into consideration the existence of a very active informal recycling sector.

A base case and three alternative scenarios which were developed for this study were evaluated. Scenario I is the base case scenario representing the existing system. Scenarios II and III integrate informal recycling with the mainstream recycling system through a separate collection agency. Scenario IV proposes a strong upstream-defined deposit refund where the manufacturer pays a 'green tax' and receives a refund on green recycling of ULABs. The major gains and losses both upstream and downstream in the recycling chain are analysed for all of the scenarios.

Scenario II was determined to be the most effective, as it takes care of the interests of both the formal and informal stakeholders. By using the services of the itinerant collectors and eliminating informal smelters, Scenario II strengthens formal recycling. The introduction of a separate collection agency in Scenarios II and III benefits almost all of the major stakeholders in the system. Scenario IV gives the manufacturer more responsibility for used batteries. In all four scenarios, the downstream stakeholders of the EPR-DRS were the major beneficiaries.

A successful EPR-DRS for ULABs in India can be achieved by integrating informal recycling through the introduction of a separate collection agency, strengthening the upstream DRS, completely eliminating informal recycling, and effective compliance monitoring.