Legislative Gazette: 11-year-old Helps Draft Bill to Recycle Batteries

A state senator, who has been a long-time environmental advocate, is following the lead of an 11-year-old boy from his district in Queens on an important issue in environmental policy: recycling of batteries.

At a press conference on the 45th anniversary of Earth Day, April 22, Sen. Tony Avella, vice chair of the Environmental Conservation Committee, announced the introduction of bill S.4522 that would require New York to establish a recycling program for everyday-use batteries.

At the conference Avella, D-Queens, introduced Eliot Seol who lives in Queens. Seol contacted the senator requesting he introduce a bill to address that batteries people use in common electronics are not recycled properly.

"When Eliot first came to me to discuss his concerns about protecting our environment, I was blown away by his dedication to this cause at such a young age," Avella said. "I can think of no better way to celebrate Earth Day than to share Eliot's vision with others. I am proud to be able to introduce this legislation and I urge all New Yorkers, of any age, to follow in Eliot's footsteps."

According to Seol, common single-use batteries may not contain mercury but they do contain other harmful metals such as lead, zinc, cadmium, nickel and manganese, which can be transported from landfills via runoff water and enter the ground water, or evaporate and rain on other locations, collecting in bodies of water.

"These batteries contain other corrosive chemicals harmful to the environment and even us," said Seol. "Let's say every house-hold throws out 50 batteries a year, think of how many batteries will be thrown out across the whole New York state each year." Seol explained how batteries can be harmful to the environment. One example he used is the belief that the meteor that killed off the dinosaurs introduced large amounts of nickel, a metal used in common batteries, into the environment killing off vegetation and starving the dinosaurs. "This could happen to us, but we can stop this if we pass the bill for battery recycling," Seol said.

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