With the "explosive growth" of new energy vehicles, power battery recycling has also attracted public attention. However, to engage in battery recycling, not only requires a business license, but also a "Hazardous Waste Business License". This certificate is relatively difficult to apply for. Many people think it is troublesome, or they think the investment cost is too high and they don’t want to apply for a certificate. So is it illegal to recycle batteries without a certificate? How will it be punished?
automotive power battery not only contains a variety of heavy metals such as nickel, cobalt, manganese, but also the lithium hexafluorophosphate in the electrolyte is easily hydrolyzed in an air environment to produce harmful substances such as phosphorus pentafluoride, hydrogen fluoride , which is more harmful to the environment. Another waste battery is dangerous, and improper handling may cause some safety accidents. If handled properly, it can also generate huge economic and social value while protecting the environment.
In order to promote the healthy development of the power battery recycling industry and avoid "bad money driving out good money", the state requires that enterprises engaged in power battery recycling must operate with a certificate, otherwise it is an illegal act and will be punished by both buyers and sellers.
Punishment Case 1: Collecting and storing hazardous waste without a license, and was fined 1 million yuan!
On April 9, 2021, the Haikou Comprehensive Administrative Law Enforcement Bureau received a report from the public that someone illegally recycled waste batteries in a private house in Xinbudao Street, Meilan District, Haikou City. Law enforcement officers found on-site inspection that the house was the business address of the wholesale and retail lead-acid battery of a Hainan Co., Ltd., and the waste lead-acid battery stored on the site is a hazardous waste. The total weight of the waste lead-acid battery in the batch is 24.97 tons. After investigation, it was found that the company had not obtained a "Hazardous Waste Business License", collected and stored waste lead-acid batteries without authorization, and was unable to provide a contract signed with a qualified hazardous waste business unit. On the same day, an investigation was filed for the company's illegal behavior. On June 11, the company was fined 1 million yuan. The case was transferred to the public security organs and the operator was administratively detained .
In recent years, with the rapid development of the electric vehicle industry, a large number of power batteries have begun to retire. The recycling of these batteries has become increasingly the focus of society. Data shows that the total cumulative retirement of my country's power batteries in 2020 is about 200,000 tons. It is estimated that by 2025, the retirement volume of power batteries in my country will reach 780,000 tons.
Due to the short development time of the power battery recycling industry, insufficient technical reserves, imperfect recycling network and lack of business model innovation, most of the used power battery batteries flow into informal channels, and some even flow into the electric bicycle and electric motorcycle market. There are still certain challenges in truly recycling and utilization of power batteries. Countries around the world have introduced relevant policies to cope with the recycling of new energy power lithium batteries.
Punishment Case 2: Criminal Detention, Severe Punishment
Based on the clues of public reporting, using drones to remote monitoring and on-site squatting and secret investigation, Shantou Municipal Ecological Environment Law Enforcement Bureau took the lead in Chenghai Branch, and in conjunction with Chenghai Branch of the Municipal Public Security Bureau and Chenghai Monitoring Station, the municipal ecological environment Chenghai Monitoring Station, dropped a waste battery collection point for illegally collecting, storing and transporting hazardous waste in Guangyi Street, Chenghai District, and fired the "first shot" of Shantou City's special operation to crack down on environmental violations and crimes in 2021.
After investigation, the collection site covers an area of about 1,300 square meters and is mainly engaged in the collection and sale of waste lead-acid batteries and lithium batteries. It was confirmed on site that the collection site had not obtained a hazardous waste license, had not completed relevant environmental impact assessment procedures, and had not provided sewage treatment facilities. Ecological environment monitoring technicians will discharge wastewater on site and sample soil inside and outside the factory for inspection. After monitoring, the pH value, ammonia nitrogen concentration, CODCr concentration, total nitrogen, total phosphorus , total nickel and other contamination factors in the wastewater discharged from the factory exceeded the standard.
During the on-site inspection, the collection point contained a batch of used vehicles for various types of waste vehicles, with a total of 204.14 tons of on-site pounds. The Municipal Ecological Environment Law Enforcement Bureau has commissioned the South China Environmental Science Institute of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment to conduct an appraisal of the characteristics of solid waste hazardous waste on the site of the waste batteries investigated and dealt with.After on-site investigation, no disposal of used vehicle batteries was found at the collection site. Law enforcement officers take photos and take photos to collect evidence of the inspection and sampling process. The public security organs controlled the operator's wife, the operator's father and the worker on site to assist in the investigation. After law enforcement officers' education, the operator Xu, accompanied by his family, took the initiative to surrender to the public security organs at 20 pm on the 6th.
At present, the used vehicle batteries in the illegal collection site have been transported to Guangdong Xinsheng Environmental Protection Technology Co., Ltd. (a qualified unit) for proper storage. The illegal collection point has been seized by the local Guangyi Street . The Chenghai Branch of the Municipal Ecological Environment Law Enforcement Bureau filed cases of illegal acts of exceeding the standard of wastewater and illegal collection of used vehicle batteries. The clues of the illegal collection site suspected of environmental pollution have been transferred to the public security organs for investigation in accordance with the law. The operator Xu, the worker and the driver were criminally detained by the public security organs in accordance with the law. The Municipal Ecological Environment Law Enforcement Bureau will impose severe and severe penalties in accordance with the law.
Punishment [Legal basis]
According to the "Law of the People's Republic of China on the Prevention and Control of Environmental Pollution by Solid Waste" (revised in 2020), Article 112: Violating the provisions of this Law and committing any of the following acts, the ecological environment authority shall order the correction, imposing a fine, and confiscating the illegal gains; if the circumstances are serious, the business may be suspended or closed after approval by the people's government with approval:
(I) Failure to set the hazardous waste identification mark in accordance with regulations;
(I) l0 (II) Failure to formulate a hazardous waste management plan or declare relevant information on hazardous waste in accordance with relevant national regulations;(II) Unauthorized dumping and stacking hazardous waste;
(IV) Providing or entrusting hazardous waste to unlicensed units or other producers and operators to engage in business activities;
(V) Failure to fill out or run a hazardous waste transfer form in accordance with relevant national regulations or transfer hazardous waste without approval;
(VI) Failure to store, utilize, and dispose of hazardous wastes in accordance with national environmental protection standard or mix hazardous wastes into non-hazardous wastes;
(VII) Mixed collection, storage, transportation and disposal of hazardous wastes with incompatible properties without safety disposal;
(VIII) Carry hazardous wastes on the same transport tool with passengers;
(IX) Places, facilities, equipment and capacity for collecting, storing, transporting and disposing of hazardous wastes without pollution removal;
(IX) Places, facilities, equipment and capacity for collecting, storing, transporting and disposing of hazardous wastes without pollution removal;
(10) Failure to take corresponding preventive measures, causing hazardous waste to scatter, lose, leak or other environmental pollution;
(11) Hazardous waste discarded and scattered along the way during transportation;
(12) Failure to formulate hazardous waste accident prevention measures and emergency plan ;
(13) Failure to establish a hazardous waste management ledger and record it truthfully in accordance with relevant national regulations.
If any of the acts in the first, second, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, twelfth, and thirteenth paragraph are subject to a fine of not less than RMB 100,000 and not more than RMB 1 million; if any of the acts in the third, fourth, tenth and eleventh paragraph are subject to a fine of not less than three times but not more than five times the required disposal expenses. If the required disposal expenses are less than RMB 200,000, the calculated calculation is RMB 200,000.
Article 114 If you engage in the business activities of collecting, storing, utilizing or disposing of hazardous waste without a license, the ecological environment authority shall order the correction and impose a fine of not less than RMB 1 million and not more than RMB 5 million, and shall be ordered to suspend business or close after approval by the people's government with approval authority; the legal representative, the main person in charge, the directly responsible supervisor and other responsible persons shall be fined not less than RMB 100,000 and not more than RMB 1 million.
If the business activities of collecting, storing, utilizing or disposing of hazardous waste in accordance with the license regulations, the ecological environment authority shall order the correction, restrict production, suspension of production, and rectification, and shall be fined not less than RMB 500,000 and not more than RMB 2 million; the legal representative, the main person in charge, the directly responsible supervisor and other responsible persons shall be fined not less than RMB 500,000 and not more than RMB 500,000; if the circumstances are serious, the person in charge shall be ordered to suspend business or close after approval by the people's government with approval authority, and the license may also be revoked by the issuing authority.
