{"id":53207,"date":"2026-10-28T06:31:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-28T10:31:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ecoticias.com\/en\/?p=53207"},"modified":"2026-10-27T07:59:37","modified_gmt":"2026-10-27T11:59:37","slug":"a-boy-in-new-jersey-started-collecting-used-batteries-after-seeing-a-battery-fire-at-a-waste-facility-on-tv-and-his-nonprofit-now-says-it-has-recycled-900000-but-even-a-dead-batte","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ecoticias.com\/en\/a-boy-in-new-jersey-started-collecting-used-batteries-after-seeing-a-battery-fire-at-a-waste-facility-on-tv-and-his-nonprofit-now-says-it-has-recycled-900000-but-even-a-dead-batte\/53207\/","title":{"rendered":"A boy in New Jersey started collecting used batteries after seeing a battery fire at a waste facility on TV, and his nonprofit now says it has recycled 900,000, but even a \u201cdead\u201d battery can still start a fire"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Where do the batteries from your remote or flashlight go when they stop working? Sri Nihal Tammana began tackling that everyday question in 2019, when he founded Recycle My Battery at age 10. The nonprofit now reports that it has recycled 900,000 used batteries, turning a childhood concern into a growing <\/a>community effort<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Its approach pairs free collection bins with education for children and adults, giving families somewhere to take those spent batteries. The practical lesson is that explaining why recycling matters is only part of the job. People also need an accessible way to do it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A news report prompted him to act<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Indian American environmental advocate says his motivation came from seeing a television report about a battery-related fire at a California waste facility. In a first-person account for Ashoka\u2019s <\/a>Changemakers<\/a>, he described asking his father how similar incidents could be prevented. That concern soon became a local collection effort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI began by collecting batteries in my school and community and taking them to free recycling points,\u201d Tammana wrote. Eventually, he said, he brought in so many that he was told he could no longer use those bins. He launched the nonprofit in June 2019 and began installing free collection bins at his school in Edison, New Jersey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Making battery recycling easier to reach<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The collection network puts battery bins in places people already visit. In its 2021 youth award profile, the <\/a>Environmental Protection Agency<\/a> described how Tammana partnered with Call2Recycle to provide certified collection bins at schools, libraries, and community centers. The organization\u2019s website now reports more than 1,800 bins.<\/p>\n\n\n

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