«Giving batteries a second life» and «#battlewaste paper»
JSC “AlES” collected 68 kg of waste batteries and 5.7 tonnes of waste paper
At the end of the year, AlES summarised the results of the environmental actions “Giving Batteries a Second life” and “#Battle Waste Paper”. Every year, the Company organises campaigns aimed at forming the environmental outlook of its employees, as well as drawing the attention of AlES employees to the wasteful use of natural resources and the need to take measures to save resources. For three years employees of JSC “AlES” collected and handed over for recycling 184 kg of batteries and 38.6 tonnes of waste paper. For 2021 – 65 kg, for 2022 – 51 kg, for 2023 – 68 kg of batteries, for waste paper: for 2021 – 5.5 tonnes, for 2022 – 10.9 tonnes, for 2023 – 5.7 tonnes.
– In the age of scientific and technological progress, mankind has made several technological breakthroughs, and the simple battery is a vivid example of this progress. A small battery is a very useful thing, but it can also be dangerous for the environment. It is widely known that the decay products of spent batteries are very harmful to flora and fauna. But it is important to realise that the main threat they pose to human health – said Zoya Arzyukova, Head of the Department of Environmental Protection.
– Modern life does not require any effort from us to switch on the TV set, to operate scales, lamps, cameras, mobile phones. And all this is thanks to batteries, which help to simplify our lives and save our time. But what harm does a battery hide? Batteries contain many different metals – mercury, nickel, cadmium, lead, lithium, manganese and zinc, which have the property to accumulate in living organisms, including the human body, and cause significant harm to health and the environment. One carelessly thrown away finger battery pollutes about 20 square metres of land or 400 litres of water with heavy metals! – said Elena Silvestrova, chief specialist of the Environmental Protection Department.
– The problem with the ecology of the planet is largely connected with the pollution of nature by the results of human activity. Every year the problem is gaining more and more relevance, – shared her opinion Saltanat Zhanakhmetova, Chief Manager of the Environmental Protection Department.
Many modern people believe that old used paper and cardboard can do nothing bad for the environment. They claim that since these products are made of wood, they are absolutely environmentally safe. In reality, however, the matter is much more complicated. Environmentalists say that some types of waste paper are quite toxic. Scientists have found out that when decomposing paper emits a large amount of methane, which, compared to carbon dioxide, contributes almost 25 times faster to the development of the greenhouse effect. Collecting and recycling waste paper is indeed a huge contribution to the preservation of the forest fund and slowing down the development of the greenhouse effect.
The Environmental Protection Department expresses its gratitude to the Company’s employees for their participation in environmental actions and for their concern for environmental issues and problems.