US: Telugu Boy from New Jersey Wins Prestigious CNN Heroes Award for Environmental Work

13-year-old schoolboy Sri Nihal Tammana has been awarded the CNN Heroes Young Wonder honour in a New York ceremony, televised live on CNN on December 12th.

The prize was awarded in recognition of Nihal’s exemplary environmental work with his nonprofit, Recycle My Battery. Founded in 2019 when Nihal was just 10 years old, the non-profit has made significant progress and expanded far beyond the borders of Nihal’s hometown of Edison, New Jersey.

With the help of a growing 300-strong team of volunteer school kids, the organisation installs free-to-use battery recycling bins in schools and other public locations. Nihal also leads regular campaigns to educate people about the importance of battery recycling.

In just three years of operating, Recycle My Battery has successfully collected more than 225,000 used batteries, keeping them out of landfills and ensuring they are safely recycled. Additionally, its campaigns have reached an estimated 10 million people to teach them about sustainable battery disposal.

Looking ahead, Nihal is aiming to tackle the issue of battery disposal on a global scale. It’s a mammoth task, but Nihal is up to the challenge.

“Globally, around 15 billion batteries are thrown in the trash each year. Most end up in landfills, where they cause pollution, start fires, and emit greenhouse gasses. I and the volunteers at Recycle My Battery are trying to change this, and we’re engaging with governments, other organisations, and people all over the world to help”.
Recycle My Battery now operates in several US states, and is already forging partnerships with schools, non-profits, and policymakers in Canada and India.

For information or to get in touch with Nihal, become a member, or request a battery bin for your local school, visit the Recycle My Battery website.

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