ULAANBAATAR, April 11 — Mongolia’s love affair with the Toyota Prius is turning into an environmental headache as thousands of ageing hybrid batteries pile up with nowhere to go.
“If you throw a rock in Mongolia, chances are you’ll hit a Prius,” a Mongolian taxi driver told Singapore-based news outlet CNA in a recent report.
Cheap, second-hand Priuses imported from Japan now dominate roads from the capital to the remote steppe, prized for their durability and fuel savings.
Hybrid vehicles make up about 45 per cent of the country’s 1.5 million vehicles, with most arriving already heavily used.
Many come with batteries nearing the end of their lifespan, which fail even faster in Mongolia’s extreme cold and rough terrain.
When they do, disposal becomes a problem.
“We are now facing serious challenges concerning hazardous waste, specifically how to dispose of, collect and store the batteries used in these vehicles,“ Mongolia’s Transport Ministry official Munkhnasan Enkhtaivan told CNA.
With no proper recycling system, used batteries are often dumped, stored in open areas or handled informally.
“In Mongolia today, a discarded high-voltage battery might be sitting outside someone’s ger, in an open yard, where a child could easily be playing next to it,” Enkhtaivan was quoted as saying.
Some collectors have stepped in to fill the gap, gathering thousands of depleted batteries across the country.
“In Ulaanbaatar, I am confident I collect every single battery,” said one collector, who now holds tens of thousands of units.
But a recent ban on exporting hazardous waste has left such operations stranded, with stockpiles growing.
“So these batteries – this waste – remain inside the country. It is all in Mongolia,” Enkhtaivan was quoted as saying.
The situation highlights a stark irony as hybrids were promoted as a cleaner solution to cut pollution in the capital.
Environmental experts now warn Mongolia risks becoming a dumping ground for ageing “green” technology from richer countries.
According to CNA, efforts to build recycling capacity are underway, but facilities for hybrid batteries remain limited.
Officials say the country is racing to catch up before a wider wave of electric vehicles creates an even bigger waste problem.
