Electric scooters are at the center of our squares, of the controversy, of politics and fashion of the moment: there are those who criticize them, those who can no longer do without them and those who, on the other hand, are clamoring for a few more road rules. Yet the real vulnus of the issue could be the environmental one. In general, the electric mobility sector is experiencing a real boom, due to the (increasingly green) choices of consumers and government incentives.
It is no coincidence that even small-scale electric mobility, i.e. that which includes electric scooters, e-bikes, e-scooters, hoverboards and segways, is increasingly widespread in cities: it allows quick and easy travel, all without polluting gas emissions. These are zero-emission vehicles, since, to operate, they do not require fuel and therefore do not produce direct pollution, as an endothermic engine would do. However, micro-mobility is powered by electricity or batteries. On the one hand, therefore, there is the pollution deriving from the ways in which we produce electricity, on the other hand that of defective electric vehicles or those that have reached the end of their use, which turn into waste to be treated.
But how long is the “life” of an electric scooter? The answer is just one season: it seems that the typical duration ranges from 12-24 months at most. And what remains (nickel, cobalt, copper, electric batteries), is an ecological bomb that many regions of Italy do not yet know how to dispose of properly.
A study published in Environmental Research Letters, focused its attention precisely on the sustainability linked to the life cycle of these vehicles. The thesis of the researchers at the University of North Carolina starts from the assumption that the impact on the environment depends on several factors: how and where the means of transport is produced and with what materials, its average longevity and even what means it will replace. Not only the emissions of the vehicle itself, but also those resulting from the production, transport, recharging of the batteries, collection and disposal of scooters. The emissions related to the production of these vehicles, according to the research, would be high precisely because of the materials used to create the scooters, which have a large number of plastic components and lithium from rechargeable batteries. The latter is flammable and involves an average of 9 tons of CO2 for every ton of refined lithium carbonate (LCE). In addition, vehicles and components are mostly made in China and this increases pollution from distribution.
At the end of use, the scooters must be taken to an electronics center, or to an ecological pad, so that up to 93% of its materials can be recycled. What is worrying, however, is that many importers are not yet on the lists of the national WEEE register, which oblige companies to finance collection and disposal. On the one hand, the mapping of producers is not complete, on the other hand, the production and use of these vehicles are increasing. As a result, there will be fewer companies involved and an increasing number of vehicles to be disposed of: a good practical problem for mayors and recycling companies.
At the same time, the increase in production of these vehicles is also driving up the demand for lithium for batteries. Under current conditions of extraction, production, transport and manufacturing, this increase in demand for lithium could triple CO2 emissions by 2025 and increase them 6-fold by 2030. This is what emerges from a study carried out by Roskill, the giant of analysis and evaluation of the minerals market.
There are many questions that arise as a result and that could be asked to micro-mobility companies, starting with materials (are they eco-friendly or do they abound in plastics and aluminum, nickel and cobalt?), passing through logistics (how are the vehicles managed and positioned?) and ending with the recharging of lithium batteries (from renewable sources?). And it is precisely to cope with these doubts and the ongoing city problems, that the Parisian administration has demanded from sharing service providers to adopt more sustainable policies: recharging batteries from renewable sources, managing and moving the fleet aboard electric vans and a longer use of these vehicles. A legitimate request that could extend to many other municipalities (including our own), given that it is estimated that the small electric mobility market will soon generate a turnover of about 30 billion dollars (source: Boston Consulting Group). The data of the study refer only to sharing and do not take into account private green vehicles, hoovers, segways and bicycles. But the most pressing question remains the following: are we ready to take up (also) this challenge and recycle this wave of electric vehicles?
