Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), a home for ALROSA’s headquarters and main producing assets, does not have battery-recycling facilities on its territory. Disposing single-use batteries with regular household waste leads to soil contamination and water and air pollution, as they contain heavy metals and toxic chemicals.

In May 2020, ALROSA Ecology Center signed a contract on waste batteries recycling with Megapolisresurs Group, Russia’s leading batteries’ recycler. ALROSA deployed 47 collecting points in Mirny, other towns of the Yakutia diamondiferous province and the republic’s capital Yakutsk, installing boxes not just at its own offices and factories, but also at the public and commercial facilities.

Under the initiative, more than 200 kg of waste batteries were collected. “Our campaign was a success. We received a positive feedback from local citizens who are concerned with environmental issues,” said Polina Anisimova, ALROSA’s Chief Ecologist.

Scrapped batteries will be sent to the recycling facility in Chelyabinsk in more than 3,000 km from Yakutia.