Pollution caused by used batteries will be gradually cut in China thanks to the country's increased use of more environmentally friendly batteries, according to an industry insider.

Wang Jinliang, vice-chairman of the China Battery Industry Association, said the market share of the non-mercury alkaline zinc-manganese batteries would double to about 50 percent over the coming five years.

He made the comments at a Beijing press conference after the association granted "Green Environmentally Friendly Alkaline Zinc-Manganese Battery" certificates to 11 domestic battery brands.

The companies became the first group of firms to receive the certificates, after passing the association's rigorous tests.

According to the examination, all of the 11 brands' alkaline zinc-manganese batteries contained mercury of less than 1 parts per million (ppm) (0.0001 percent), which is the same level as that of unpolluted soil.

"Non-mercury alkaline zinc-manganese batteries do no harm to the environment, meaning that they can be collected and buried with other domestic waste," Wang said.

According to a government regulation issued in 1997, the sale of alkaline zinc-manganese batteries with mercury levels of more than 1 ppm was forbidden from January 1, 2006.

Wang said the standard is even stricter than that of many developed countries the standard set by the United States, Japan and Europe is 5 ppm.

Wang said that, thanks to their superior quality, non-mercury alkaline zinc-manganese batteries are also more energy-efficient than ordinary zinc-manganese batteries.

"We should spare no efforts to advocate non-mercury alkaline zinc-manganese batteries and help people to better understand their benefits," Wang said.

He added that the batteries' market share is now relatively low, or about 25 percent, in contrast with 80 percent in developed countries.

"Many people are unaware of the batteries' advantages," Wang said.

"Besides, they are now slightly more expensive than ordinary zinc-manganese batteries."

Wang said Chinese battery manufacturers own the products' intellectual property rights and are quite competitive on the international market.

Wang urged the government to strengthen its supervision on zinc-manganese battery products in order to promote the industry's healthy development.

China is a major consumer and producer of batteries.

According to the association, China produced 30.5 billion batteries in 2005, while it consumed 13.9 billion in the same year. This means that every person in China used an average of 10.7 batteries last year.

China has made great progress in recent years in terms of the production of zinc-manganese batteries, which are now made by about 80 companies.

In 2005, China produced 6.5 billion zinc-manganese batteries, while the nation exported 3.76 billion of them.

(China Daily October 30, 2006)