Battery recycling in Russia and how much does it cost? Money from trash: how much you can earn from old batteries.
Every car owner knows that a new battery can last for several years, and then it is necessary to either restore it or buy a completely new one. As a rule, the restoration process costs half as much, and due to the not very stable economic situation in our country, people try to save on everything, including the maintenance of their car. This is what this business idea is based on - you will bring failed batteries to life.
To start in this business, you do not need huge investments. It will be enough to have your own garage and, most importantly, certain skills, without which you will not be able to carry out repairs. Let's talk a little about the essence of this business.
Another type of service that you can offer to your clients right in your garage is opening a tire service. Of course, to start, you will need to purchase some equipment, but it will easily pay for itself after attracting regular customers.
Basic types of breakdowns car batteries you need to be able to deal with:
— wear on the side plates of the battery. As a rule, with such a breakdown, the electrolyte is black.
— plate sulfation- in which a machine battery stores electricity, but it does not release it at all.
— connecting the plates to each other.
— frozen dead battery. The physical sign is swelling of the walls.
Now, knowing the main direction of work, you can find methods for solving them. I will briefly review the main points, but as they say, everything needs to be tried in practice. So let's get started.
Methods for restoring car batteries.
— Closing the plates. This is one of the most common problems. In order to make sure that the battery can be restored, you need to drain the electrolyte and start rinsing with distilled water. If after several washes you see that the water is becoming cleaner, then this battery can still work. If the water is black and coal mass is released, most likely it will not be possible to restore it. To restore, use a desulfating agent and add it to the electrolyte. Before repairing batteries, be sure to read the instructions for using this additive. I won’t describe this, since this topic is more for an automobile website, and we are describing a business idea.
— charge by reversible currents.
— recovery process using training cycles.
— mechanical restoration(the first point refers to this type).
— recovery using pulsed currents.
— with added additives.
You can learn about all these methods from folk craftsmen, but, as a rule, they have a clear step-by-step sequence, so anyone can cope with them.
Are you looking for a ready-made solution for your auto business? Read the ready-made business plan for a used auto parts store -. You will be able to find out what pitfalls await you when starting this business, and what the return on investment is. We think the material will be useful to you.
How to make people know about you?
Everything here is banal. We take, print out leaflets, go and post them in garage areas. You can also advertise in newspapers or specialized magazines. You can create your own website, but this is only if you live in a big city. In a provincial town, if you do everything efficiently, people will come to you themselves.
Pros of a business idea:
— this service will be popular in any case;
— the course of European countries towards environmental cleanliness. As you know, discarded batteries lead to very severe environmental pollution.
— this service is in demand at any time of the year, especially in winter.
- little competition.
Minuses:
— in some brands of cars, batteries cannot be disassembled and therefore cannot be repaired.
— it takes time to study all the points and acquire practical skills (but this is not a minus, but a remark).
- if service stations in your region provide such a service, it will be difficult for you to cooperate with them. In this case, you should provide the highest quality services and in some cases lower the price, but again this is all individual.
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Should batteries be recycled? And if so, who and how can make money from it?
One battery means 20 m of pollution ² soil and 400 l of groundwater. A ton of batteries means a possible $5,000 compensation from the “Operator of Secondary Material Resources.” Who, when and under what conditions can start a battery recycling business?
What's the question?
« Batteries? Why collect them, they are small!“- skeptics argue. Entrepreneurs and simply people with an active position see this as an opportunity to make money and improve the environmental situation in the country. The issue of collecting waste batteries is acute, says Anatoly Kalach, Chemical Safety and Waste Program Officer at the Center for Environmental Solutions:
« Batteries in landfills are a problem from an environmental point of view, and therefore the country’s economy. Last year’s resolution of the Council of Ministers (No. 1124 of December 2, 2014) means a lot for its solution. The document requires all stores (regardless of what goods they sell) with an area of more than 100 m- have a container for collecting batteries. There are more than 3 thousand such stores in the country.
To date, about 30 tons of batteries have been collected in Belarus. Those collected in Minsk are stored at the Ecores enterprise, in the regions - at regional enterprises of Belresursy. In the near future it is expected that they will be exported abroad for processing.».
Legislation paid attention not only to the collection of batteries, but also to their import into the country: Presidential Decree 313 has been in effect for almost 3 years, introducing the principle of extended responsibility, when manufacturers and importers of certain products compensate for the processing of imported goods in the future.
Is it possible to make money from this?
In theory - yes, in Belarusian practice - not yet. The state makes money in any case - actively (by collecting taxes from importers of batteries and electronics) or passively (by saving money on environmental initiatives). Can private traders make money?
They can, he believes. Dmitry Kuchuk, director of the Zapadnaya waste sorting station. " Collecting and recycling batteries is beneficial for both private companies and the government. We, battery collectors, can receive compensation of 75 thousand rubles. for 1 kg. A kilogram of batteries is not much, because they are quite heavy. It is cost-effective for any company with an extensive collection system».
But “we can receive” does not equal “we receive.” Natalya Grintsevich, director of the “Operator of Secondary Material Resources”, an organization that must pay compensation for the collection of batteries, said that the money has not yet been paid. " We are an organization that coordinates the actions of participants in the process, but does not collect, neutralize or recycle batteries. We do not yet recycle batteries, which means we cannot pay compensation to those who collect them».
What is the interest of a private company?« Most environmentally related projects are unprofitable, - Natalya Grintsevich dispelled our thoughts about the possibility of earning “money on batteries.” - All over the world, these projects are financed by the state, and it takes funds from taxes paid by importers of equipment and batteries. In Belarus, the importer has a choice: pay 100% of the potential cost of recycling batteries (potential, since only a small fraction of them will be collected properly) or collect 15% of the volume of imported batteries themselves.».
A recycler who accepts batteries for recycling can also make money. Alas, not ours. We do not yet have our own battery processing facility. The question of what is more profitable is now being considered: to build your own plant or export batteries abroad, paying for the work of a recycler. The decision depends on what volumes of batteries can be collected in the future - with small volumes it is irrational to build your production.
Batteries and mobile phones collected for recycling at the Finnish company Akkuser:
« I believe that we should not build our own enterprise for recycling used batteries: the process is complex, and the potential danger to the environment is high, says Anatoly Kalach. - In Belarus, such volumes of used batteries are not generated to build your own enterprise, especially since it will cost significant funds. For example, in Finland, before the launch of such a plant, they accumulated about 100 thousand tons of batteries so that the plant could operate without stopping».
Some of the processed products are disposed of after removing potentially harmful substances, and some are sold to metallurgical enterprises. There are a lot of heavy metals available for recycling from tons of recycled batteries. The same volume of necessary metals is contained in an entire railway car of iron ore.
What prevents you from “making money” on batteries?
Dmitry Kuchuk believes that in general the state has created conditions for the collection and recycling of batteries, but some questions remain. For example, a monopoly on the part of the “Secondary Resources Operator”. " It is important that the interests of private business and government bodies are represented at the same level, so that all participants in the process have the opportunity to influence it. This is much better than directive decisions of a minister or the head of a monopolist enterprise: they are not always familiar with the situation from the inside. - the expert notes.
The environmental initiative intersects here with the commercial considerations of “private owners” and the state. The founder of the Operator of Secondary Resources is the Ministry of Housing and Communal Services, and it directs most of the funding to government organizations, while active private business is in the background. If the initiative to collect and recycle batteries is not supported by the Operator, and payment of compensation is not established, the process will stall. It is necessary to establish a dialogue between the state and private companies».
Maybe we're not collecting enough batteries? Enough for your place and time - experts are sure. " It is impossible to say that we collect few batteries. We began to actively use electronics with batteries not so long ago. But the consumption of equipment is growing - quantitatively and nomenclature - which means that the volume of collected batteries will increase“- predicts Anatoly Kalach.
Discussing the similarities and differences in our approach to processing “energy waste” in Europe, Dmitry Kuchuk says: “ Belarusian and European legislation in this area adheres to one principle: whoever pollutes pays. In this we are similar to Europe. We differ from the West in that we have a monopolist enterprise that collects money from importers. There is no monopoly on this activity in different European countries; it is a collective decision. Conditions have been created there that allow any initiative group to start work and put it on a business track. Battery recycling in Western Europe is also seen from a resource recovery and recycling perspective.».
As the practice of other countries shows, private enterprises are more mobile and efficient in processing batteries, household appliances, and waste paper. In the housing and communal services system, this is done for reporting purposes: they are not stimulated by either the financial or environmental components.
The fight against batteries in Russia
In Russia, the collection of batteries was officially launched in the fall of 2013. Then the Chelyabinsk Megapolisresurs plant expressed its readiness to accept and recycle waste batteries. Until this time, in some cities there were only private initiatives: local public organizations held events where people could bring batteries and other hazardous waste. Everything collected was stored until “better times” or exported abroad. Often - in Finland, where a network of collection points is developed, processing enterprises operate. It was convenient for Moscow and St. Petersburg to work according to this scheme, but in other cities the topic of collecting and recycling batteries was rarely raised.
The site told the portal about how batteries are collected and disposed of in Russia today Anna Zhevachevskaya, Director of Ripe Berry. Environmental programs for business."
« In Novosibirsk, we stood at the very origins of the project’s development. And we are proud that we managed to create an effective system that is beneficial for all participants in the process, and in many ways inspire colleagues from different cities of Russia. Our project is called “Step 2: Green Goal”, and its idea is to enable Novosibirsk residents to safely dispose of used household appliances, electronics and batteries.
But where to organize such a gathering? Where can I find funding to organize the project? Where should I send it for recycling? In this regard, we are very lucky with our partners. A few months before the start of the project, the owner of a chain of electronics stores approached me with a request to help organize collection points for used batteries and mercury lamps in his stores. At that time, neither they nor we did not consider this idea as a business project, we simply did not know how all this could be organized.
Soon we entered into a contract with a Finnish processor of batteries and electronics - the companyAkkuser, and thanks to this they were able to open official battery collection points. We have found a good partner for electronics recycling. People can donate batteries, accumulators, phones, chargers, cameras, etc. into our containers. The entire process of collection, storage, shipping and processing is completely transparent. Every person who donates batteries knows where they will go, where and how they will be recycled, and what new products they will receive. Every winter we send at least 1.5 tons of batteries to Chelyabinsk (we never had to send it to Finland, because a factory appeared in Russia). This is one of the largest indicators in Russia, although we do not have many collection points - about 10.
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Do Russian companies make money from recycling batteries? Anna Zhevachevskaya says no, and adds: “ The most important thing is that all participants do not lose anything, everyone has their own benefit. Stores receive PR based on positive ideas about caring for the environment. We, as an operator who allows the system to function effectively, have a small financial benefit, but this is still a social business.
But processors make money, yes. Our only plant that accepts batteries for recycling charges a recycling fee. If for 1.5 years it was 72 rubles per kg, now the price has doubled. Their business is processing and, accordingly, they set the prices for their services themselves. In addition, this enterprise is a monopolist; batteries are brought here from all over the country, as well as from neighboring countries. And in terms of profitability, the company has one huge advantage - they did not create a battery processing plant from scratch, they simply adapted one of their existing lines specifically for batteries.
It is gratifying that the principle of extended responsibility of producers and importers operating in Belarus is partly a matter of national pride: it does not exist in Russia. It operates only in a number of companies and covers a minimum range of commercial enterprises. Basically, these are large foreign companies operating according to their charter, ready to implement the principles of “sustainable development”.
As Anna Zhevachevskaya says, in Russia a recycling tax applies to paper industry enterprises. However, it is not known to what extent the norms of the law are observed there, because Most of these enterprises use criminal schemes to pay taxes. Commercial companies are still finding ways to avoid liability for improper disposal of equipment, because... control and supervisory authorities prefer to turn a blind eye to such matters, and unauthorized dumping of recyclable waste into landfills is practically not stopped.
Russian perspective
How different are our realities from Russian ones - in scale and specificity? " If we talk about the processing of batteries itself, then today it is too early to talk about the profitability and success of participants in the processing market. The fact is that the bulk of “green initiatives” of business are quite long-term projects that require “long-term money” and interest in the processed product. Leverage for such projects can be 3-5 years without positive profitability, and considerable investments are required, says Anna.
Not every investor is ready to invest money for such periods for projects that can pay off, for example, in 50 years. As for commercial companies, they often have nowhere to get money to develop an environmental business related to disposal or recycling. This is usually possible if the entrepreneur or enterprise has additional financial capabilities, as a “side” business. As for ecology in general, the state must certainly be an active investor in the field of environmental protection, because Without the active participation of the state in environmental protection and solid waste recycling projects, enterprises are faced with bureaucracy and a lack of interest in this business.
For Russia, especially based on the current difficult economic situation, the topic of ecology is gradually being pushed further and further into the background. We have less and less to count on attracting investment in our field and on assistance and participation from the state».
Even airplanes can be recycled correctly!
Dispose of batteries correctly!
The business of accepting car batteries works according to a simple scheme: “bought used devices - repaired or resold - made a profit.” To do this, we register a company, obtain a license to work with hazardous waste, look for premises and equipment, and form sales channels. The result is profit within six months and profitability of 20%.
“I will buy old batteries” - behind this seemingly banal ad there is a profitable business with a profitability of more than 20%.
A battery acceptance business is not only a profitable business option, but also a way to protect the environment from human waste.
Technically, a car battery can last from 1 to 5 years, after which it requires replacement or repair. Used batteries can be disassembled for spare parts or restored to working condition. In both the first and second cases, they can be sold at 2-5 times the purchase price.
Reference: In developed countries, the acceptance and disposal of car batteries is supported by the state due to the high toxicity of the lead and sulfuric acid they contain. For example, in Norway, firms engaged in such activities are exempt from paying environmental fees.
Business model
A battery recycling company is a way to generate income from waste recycling.
Why is such an idea considered a profitable business using recycled materials?
- Firstly, batteries fail once every 1-5 years and, most often, are sent by car owners to a landfill due to the impossibility of further use;
- Secondly, old car chargers contain a lot of valuable substances (lead, silver, helium, acids, etc.) that can be reused;
- Thirdly, if you master repair skills, they can be sold after restoration at a reduced cost (demand will be high, since not all car owners can afford a new device).
- And finally, buying batteries is a business option that does not require impressive start-up capital
Reference: In 2016, the number of cars on Russian roads amounted to 56.6 million units. If we assume that batteries are replaced after an average of three years, then up to 19 million of these devices end up in landfills every year.
Source: traffic police
Characteristics of the service - where to start?
Acceptance of failed car batteries can become the basis for building two business options with the possibility of combining them.
Reference: Disassembly of the device in order to remove valuable substances (lead, hydrochloric or sulfuric acid, etc.) and parts is carried out only on expensive equipment, which requires an initial investment of 1 million rubles.
Buying batteries - what to pay attention to?
At the stage of purchasing failed car batteries, you can use two proven methods:
- Organize a collection point for used batteries in a place where potential clients pass (inside a garage cooperative, near a service station, etc.);
- Carry out field raids by car in garages, service stations, and parking areas to purchase old devices.
Non-working mechanisms assembled in this way can have one of five failure options, each of which presupposes a certain order of subsequent actions.
Premises and equipment - what do you need to know?
You should start buying car batteries by preparing the premises. It is important to consider three nuances here:
- The building must have the status of a non-residential object (it is most convenient to use a garage for these purposes);
- Ensuring it is protected from unauthorized entry by unauthorized persons, and is also provided with electricity and water;
- If we are talking about repairs, it is necessary to purchase equipment, tanks for storing hazardous waste, and special clothing.
Based on the results of an inspection of the premises, the Sanitary and Epidemiological Service (SES) issues a permit to operate.
To carry out activities to buy batteries “from hand”, you also need your own car with a trunk (carrying used devices in the passenger compartment is harmful to health).
Registering a business - what documents are required?
For the business of accepting car batteries, a license from Rosprirodnadzor is required (Federal Law “On Licensing of Certain Types of Activities” dated May 4, 2011 N 99-FZ). To receive it, you must register an individual entrepreneur or LLC with the tax authorities.
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Once the company is registered (its owners have received an extract from the Unified State Register of Legal Entities or the Unified State Register of Individual Entrepreneurs), you can begin to obtain a license for the collection, transportation, storage and processing of hazardous and hazardous waste (Federal Law “On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation and Recognition as Lost”) force of certain provisions of legislative acts of the Russian Federation" dated June 29, 2015 N 203-FZ). For this you will need:
- Constituent and registration documents of the company;
- Papers for real estate and land;
- Agreements for the provision of water and energy supplies;
- Documents confirming the professional training of employees in working with hazardous substances (for companies repairing and disassembling batteries);
- Conclusion from the SES regarding permissible emissions into water, land, air;
- A detailed plan of the territory within which waste of classes I-IV will be processed, stored, and disposed;
- List of waste that the company works with.
Reference: The battery contains substances that can be classified into different classes according to the degree of their harmful effects on the environment (acids - class I, lead, alkalis - class II, helium compounds - class III, sulfates - class IV, plastic - class V ).
Did you know that one battery thrown into the trash can contaminate 400 liters of water and 20 square meters of soil with heavy metals? These are certainly huge numbers. Therefore, people who simply throw away batteries with household garbage are approaching this issue irresponsibly. Can the battery business be considered a promising idea? Let's look at this issue in our article.
Some more facts
If we take the entire production volume of rechargeable batteries, then only 3% of them are recycled. The most batteries are recycled in the USA, Australia and Europe. In developing countries there is no such activity at all, and all batteries are disposed of with household waste.
Where to start a battery business?
The first thing to do is to organize collection points for used batteries. However, this is the case if you decide to only collect. Then all batteries are transported to recycling plants. At the same time, anyone can engage in recycling, but considerable investments will be required.
Business plan for collecting used batteries
It is worth understanding that such an idea cannot be called highly profitable, but it does not require large expenses. Business prospects will increase if in the future you still plan to organize your own recycling workshop. Then the profit will increase tenfold.
The collection of batteries will be more active if the population is informed about the dangers of improper disposal and its consequences. This can be done using stands installed next to the container for collecting used batteries, as well as through articles in the local press and the distribution of flyers. It is also possible to organize mobile collection points.
There is no need to pay money to the public for recycling batteries in a special container. But entrepreneurs who send assembled batteries to a special plant receive money for this depending on the weight of the raw materials.
Battery business in Russia
In our country, batteries have been officially collected since 2013. At that time, the Megapolisresurs plant in Chelyabinsk took up this task. Before this, only private companies took the initiative, sending all collected raw materials abroad or storing them “until better times.”
Processing technology
If a plant processes batteries of various types, then at the first stage they are sorted depending on their charge level and composition. This is a very complex process.
First, flammable materials (insulation and plastic) are removed from the battery. This is done using a gas thermal oxidation unit. The output is purified metal elements. They are finely chopped and heated. Non-metallic products are burned, leaving behind a black slag that is easy to remove. The liquid alloys that remain after heating are sorted by weight and separated from each other. 
Some companies don't separate the metals, but simply send the resulting liquid alloys to factories that produce chromium, nickel or iron for stainless steel and other products.
Recycling is an energy-intensive process. To extract the metal, you will need several times more energy than in the case of other methods of producing materials. This begs the question: “Who benefits from paying for battery recycling?”
For example, in the EU countries, when producing batteries, disposal costs are immediately added to their cost. And if you return old batteries, the buyer receives a discount on new ones.
Nickel-metal hydride batteries are considered the most profitable, since when they are recycled, you can get a fairly large percentage of nickel and recoup the entire process. Lithium-ion and nickel-cadmium batteries require the most disposal costs, since cadmium is in low demand, and lithium-ion batteries do not allow much metal to be recovered.
Not all batteries are recycled. Some are sent to landfills for burial.
Disposal and recycling of batteries using the example of Megapolisresurs
Today this is the largest collection point for used batteries in Russia. The company was founded in 2004, but only started processing in 2013. The processing process in this organization is carried out using the latest technology, the authors of which are the Megapolisresurs specialists themselves. According to the authors of the invention, the efficiency of this process has reached a maximum of 80%, which is 20% more than abroad. For example, in Germany the efficiency is no more than 60%.
Currently, Megapolisresurs employees are collaborating with the largest stores in the country, installing bins for collecting used batteries. There are also our own collection points in 24 cities across the country. 
Opening a business for recycling used batteries is quite difficult, since the industry is not yet very developed in our country. There is also no public culture for recycling batteries, and you will have to work hard to collect the necessary raw materials. Setting up a processing plant will require significant costs, which are difficult to recover when reselling recyclable materials. Therefore, such a business must be additionally financed by the state.
Simply put, it’s worth considering battery recycling as a business, but with a big eye on the payback. The processing business looks much more interesting in terms of profit.
If you have anything to add to the article or would like to ask a question, we welcome your comments!
