Sri Nihal Tammana

Sri Nihal Tammana
Sri Nihal Tammana at the CNN Heroes 2022 award ceremony
Born2009 (age 15–16)
OccupationEnvironmental campaigner
Years active2019–present
Known forFounder of Recycle My Battery
Websitehttps://recyclemybattery.org

Sri Nihal Tammana is an American environmental campaigner who specializes in battery recycling.[1][2][3][4]

Environmental work

In 2019, Tammana founded the US-based non-profit organization Recycle My Battery. They install free battery recycling bins and educate students and adults about battery recycling.[5] As of July 2025, the organization has recycled nearly 675,000 used batteries, educated over 50 million people about battery recycling, and has a team of over 1,000 youth volunteers across several countries. In 2025, Recycle My Battery launched the Battery Challenge, a school competition that helped students recycle over 100,000 batteries in just a few months.[4][6][7]

Tammana has been featured in a lesson in a German textbook published by Westermann. He has made a number of media appearances, including a live appearance on CNN,[8] a featured segment on the Japanese TV network Fuji TV,[9] and a documentary appearance on BBC.[10] He has delivered two TED talks, one in 2021 titled "Saving Earth, One Battery At A Time!",[11] and a second in 2023 titled "Recycle My Battery: Empowering Communities".[12] In 2023, Tammana was featured in the Time for Kids magazine as one of the "Kid Heroes of the Planet".[13]

On October 7, 2023, Recycle My Battery broke a Guinness World Record for the Longest Line of Batteries by placing 31,204 batteries in a line. The previous record stood at 1,380 batteries.[14][15]

Awards

References

  1. ^ a b "Battery delight: AP boy recycles his way to glory". The Times of India. 2020-11-13. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
  2. ^ Kanmadikar, Pallavi (2020-11-19). "Meet Sri Nihal Tammana, The 11-Year-Old Founder Of 'Recycle My Battery'". DissDash. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
  3. ^ a b "Four Indian-American teens win top prize for young heroes". Business Insider. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
  4. ^ a b "Sri Nihal Tammana | Young Innovator and Entrepreneur | Global Indian". Global Indian Youth. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
  5. ^ "Recycle Old Batteries At South Brunswick Library On Earth Day". South Brunswick, NJ Patch. 2023-04-18. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
  6. ^ "Four PIO teens win top US prize for young heroes". The Times of India. 2022-10-03. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 2023-07-22.
  7. ^ Monthly, New Jersey (2022-12-21). "Edison Student Leads the Charge on Recycling Used Batteries". New Jersey Monthly. Retrieved 2023-07-22.
  8. ^ CNN Heroes Young Wonder: Sri Nihal Tammana | CNN, 2022-12-13, retrieved 2023-07-16
  9. ^ "フューチャーランナーズ". フジテレビ (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-07-16.
  10. ^ "BBC World Service - The Documentary, A Billion batteries". BBC. 2023-08-08. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
  11. ^ Tammana, Sri Nihal (2021-06-10), Saving Earth, One Battery At A Time!, retrieved 2023-07-16
  12. ^ Tammana, Sri Nihal (2023-06-12), Recycle My Battery: Empowering Communities, retrieved 2023-07-28
  13. ^ "Kid Heroes for the Planet". Time for Kids. 2023-04-05. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
  14. ^ "Longest line of batteries". Guinness World Records.
  15. ^ "Guinness World Record Set by Recycle My Battery - On New Jersey". 2023-10-10. Retrieved 2024-02-01.
  16. ^ US EPA, OA (2022-06-10). "President's Environmental Youth Award (PEYA) 2020 Winners". United States Environmental Protection Agency. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
  17. ^ "NJDEP| Governor's Environmental Excellence Awards | 2020 Winners". Governor's Environmental Excellence Awards. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
  18. ^ "Photos: 'CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute' 2022". CNN. 2022-12-12. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
  19. ^ NJ.com, Jackie Roman | NJ Advance Media for (2023-11-16). "14-year-old from N.J. named finalist for International Children's Peace Prize". nj. Retrieved 2024-01-26.
  20. ^ "Honorees 2023". Volunteerism Awards. Retrieved 2023-07-22.
  21. ^ "Roll of Honour 2023". diana-award.org.uk. Retrieved 2023-07-22.
  22. ^ "Eight Indian Americans win Diana Award". New India Abroad. 2023-07-02. Retrieved 2023-07-22.
  23. ^ "Youth Summit Awards". www.youthsummitawards.com. Retrieved 2023-07-22.