Green Links Lanka appointed authorised supplier of used hybrid/EV batteries to Umicore

Green Links Lanka, Sri Lanka’s foremost and leading electronic waste management company was appointed by the Umicore Battery Recycling Company in Belgium as the authorised supplier in Sri Lanka of used Hybrid/EV vehicle batteries to Umicore Company.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between Green Links Lanka Managing Director Nalin Gunaratne and Umicore Battery Recycling Company in Hoboken, Belgium Global Commercial and Sourcing Manager Ghislain Van Damme.

As per this MoU, Green Links Lanka is responsible for collecting and storing end-of-life Nickel Metal Hydride and Lithium-Ion batteries from hybrid and electric vehicles imported to Sri Lanka and export them to Umicore Battery Recycling Company for eco-friendly recycling.

Accordingly Green Links Lanka, it will supply used Nickel Metal Hydrate and Lithium-Ion battery packs of Hybrid, plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles (=xEV) sold within Sri Lanka by leading motor companies, for recycling purposes to Umicore Battery Recycling Company.

After eight long years of research and development, Umicore Battery Recycling setup a recycling facility in 2011 using UHT (ultra high temperature) technology which allows a close to zero-waste recycling of the used xEV batteries and a sustainable closed loop approach for the recovered metals such as cobalt, nickel, copper, rare earths and lithium. With this technology, Umicore became the winner of the European Business Award in 2012.

Umicore Group is a gigantic Materials Technology and Recycling company in the world having 14,000 workers, operating in 56 industrial sites and having 20 research and development or technical centers worldwide.

Green Links Lanka is authorised by the Central Environmental Authority (CEA) to manage electronic waste in Sri Lanka. Used computers, laptops, TVs, LED monitors, printing machines, scanners, photo copiers, refrigerators, air conditioners, washing machines, telephones, mobile phones, digital cameras, and alkaline batteries are exported to several countries under Basel license.

Green Links Lanka to date has exported over 6000 tons of electronic waste to countries such as Japan, UK, South Korea, Malaysia and Germany under special agreements to bring Sri Lanka great amounts of foreign exchange.

Leading companies operating in the country including Singer Sri Lanka, John Keells, Metropolitan, banks, BOI companies and over 400 companies supply electronic waste to Green Links Lanka.

Commissioned in 2005, Green Links Lanka has been recognised with awards as the foremost electronic waste management company in the country. The ‘e-Waste Management Workshop’ held in 2016 in Beijing, China, organised by the United Nations Development Programme featured electronic waste management experts from 14 countries and it is significant that Green Links Managing Director Nalin Gunaratne was amongst them.

Green Links Managing Director Nalin Gunaratne said: “We commissioned Green Links Company by collecting old silencers in my car boot. We are more than happy that currently some of the world’s leading e-waste management companies have recognised our company as a trustworthy supplier and have tied up with us.”

“In recent times, in the Colombo vicinity a huge dumping yard erupted causing great unpleasantness. A future threat to our country is, accumulation of electronic waste. Thus I humbly request people to give us all their e-waste and become environment friendly citizens. We have made things easy for them by allocating a mobile vehicle, so they can call the hotline 011-5660300 or personally bring their e-waste to No.848/3A, Mabola, Wattala where our main warehouse is situated,” Gunaratne added.

He further said: “We look forward to facilitate people living outstation too, if they could call us. However I must stress, when e-waste is provided to us, not to remove their inner parts as we could export e-waste if they have parts that could only be recycled.”