This is the greatest fear. Take the example of simple AA batteries. As time and technology progressed, we didn't get safer, easily reusable and rechargable batteries and infra to charge them and safely dispose when they eventually met its end life.
Instead we (India) got dirt cheap throwaway batteries everywhere that came bundled with every item or toy we buy...
I think economics and incentives are in such a way that global ICE conversion to EV will happen a lot faster than technologies that can cheaply recycle them or dispose them is available..We worry about pollution of atmosphere, and I am wondering what similar thing could happen when the improperly disposed EV batteries starts piling up. At least for atmosphere, plants and trees could potentially cleanup CO2..What will clean up those dead batteries and the potentially toxics chemicals that seep out of them, if the economics and incentives are not aligned to make that happen? I don't think regulations are powerful enough to do that (at least until it is too late)...then what else?
Will the developed countries just ship their crap to places like my country and call it a day? I mean, if we buy some food from some hotel, it already come in some recycled container from china or something..and unless I am mistaken our toys are mostly made of plastic waste from china..
Would something similar happen with EV waste as well?
Climate change due to CO2 is going to be far more catastrophic.
Most CO2 in the air stays there for geological time frames. Local pollution from badly managed landfills is unlikely to collapse global ecosystems.
CO2 is much more serious
EV batteries last much longer than we were told:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/carltonreid/2022/08/01/electric...
and, after they are no longer useful in EVs, they are still useful for at least another decade as grid storage.
There was (and still is) a lot of black PR around this, sponsored by the fossil fuel industry.