Strategic Policy Modeling for Stewardship Program of Spent Portable Batteries

Abstract

This study identified the environmental policy instruments for a program on environment, health, and safety (EHS) that could impose certain penalties on stakeholders for the improper disposal of spent portable batteries. Stakeholders of the program were obligated physically and financially for a market defined by local area-specific parameters. Expert opinions were taken, and surveys were conducted to quantify the parameters. Obligations of the stakeholders and their interactions in the program constituted the policy for the collection and recycling of portable battery waste management. Noncooperative strategic game modeling was used to review the policies of the EHS program. Equilibria of game models served as the keys to identify the win-win situation and to optimize the incentives to the actors in different modules of the program. Results suggest that the recycler prefers to collect the spent batteries directly from consumers rather than from manufacturers if the incentive to the consumer is less than 7.938% of battery cost and the recycling fee is less than $4, per t. Further, the manufacturer prefers outsourced recycling up to 8.5625% of battery cost. Schemes were evaluated economically to formulate policies that would be helpful in developing a stewardship program.