A campaign to gather used batteries has started in Baku, and has spread news of itself on social media sites. The main goal of the campaign is to raise awareness to the problem of waste in Azerbaijan and to teach people about recycling, a service which is generally unavailable in Azerbaijan.
Javid Qarayev, the initiator of the campaign, says that most of know just how dangerous used batteries can be; when disposed of improperly, used batteries give off mercury into the ground and mixes with water supplies, seriously contributing to the pollution of the water table:
“Research shows that 99% of battery materials can be reused. Countries that do not reuse or treat their garbage can come face to face with very serious pollution problems; the dangerous pollutants must be neutralized first. We do have one such recycling institution in Sumqayit, however, it can not be used to neutralize the dangerous byproducts of decaying batteries, and society is still seemingly unaware of the potential consequences of this.”
Javid Qarayev further says that the aim of the campaign is to attract the attention of society and the government to this impending problem: “Our first goal is collect 10,000, then 100,000 and eventually 1 million batteries. We will start with one collection point. Later, we will add different collection spots around the center of town. The next step will be, of course, to spread these battery collection points across Baku and the country in general.”
Javid Qarayev says that he is exploring how this problem has been solved by neighboring countries: “For now, we plan to send the collected batteries abroad to processing plants. If we can’t, we will try to use the technology available in Sumqayit.”
