It's common sense to collect and recycle old batteries these days, but one man has taken his obsession with them to unprecedented heights. Wang Zixin is considered a pioneer in the battery recycling industry.
China Drive feature correspondent Michael Lee asked him for his story.
 (Audio available for download)
I am standing beside a bus stop in Xingong Village in Beijing's Fengtai District. The road is bumpy and there are only two bus routes. When big trucks and motorcycles pass by, the dust floats like fog in the air.
The battery recycling king Wang Zixin lives here. An old computer takes pride of place in his modestly furnished home and the backyard's filled with the old batteries he's collected. As I survey the scene, it's hard to imagine Wang Zixin was a millionaire in the 1990s. He's been collecting batteries for almost 7 years and established China's first treatment plant for waste batteries in 1999. But the project failed because people feared the factory's incomplete technology would pollute a nearby river. But Wang Zixin stayed dedicated to protecting the environment. In recent years he's spared no effort spreading the word about recycling old batteries among the public.
"All my time, money and energy are spent on recycling old batteries. Waste batteries are running in my blood, they're my life. I used to have a million yuan when I was a businessman. Now my wife and parents feed the entire family on around 1,600 yuan a month."
Wang Zixin has held several exhibitions to popularize the concept to the public from 2001 to now. He has two hotlines set up in his house and has answered to countless queries about battery collection. But most people call to ask how much he'll pay for their waste batteries. Wang Zixin says most people have the mistaken belief that collecting waste batteries can earn them a lot of money. It's just not true.
"Our hotlines show that more than 30% of consumers believe that collecting is a profitable business, so most people call to ask how much I can pay for their waste batteries. But collecting batteries is currently a public welfare business. I think people should be aware that returning their old batteries is something they should do to protect the environment, not earn money."
Wang Zixin has never stopped researching different ways to treat old batteries. He even holds a patent for a device to treat old batteries, though he lacks the funds to put the technology into practice.
"The vacuum pyrogenic technology is the first of its kind in China and at the cutting edge in the world. The core of the technology is that different metals have different liquefying points. In the vacuum, we first gasify the battery, then cool the temperature, allowing different metals to become liquid at different temperatures. That's how we collect metals like mercury and Zinc from the batteries."
Wang Zixin says he currently lacks the capital he needs to open a battery treatment plant. But this small obstacle won't stop him from dedicating himself to his chosen career. Battery recycling centers have been set up in most big city communities but the fight to stop the pollution from waste batteries still needs our help.
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