Eight-Year-Old Helps Save the Planet Through Proper Battery Disposal and Recycling

Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree Nithya Tammana. Read her story and nominate an outstanding volunteer or family as a Daily Point of Light.  

Nithya Gopika Tammana, an 8-year-old, started observing her brother, the founder of Recycle My Battery, at the age of 5. Seeing Nihal spread awareness about battery recycling and the impact he created on people inspired her to learn about the ill effects of throwing used batteries in the trash.  

For the past three years, Nithya has volunteered over 500 volunteer hours, participating in battery drives and educational campaigns organized by her brother. She is always behind him in all activities, lending a helping hand whenever needed. She has collected thousands of batteries and educated thousands of people, always encouraging them to recycle their used batteries. Nithya is vocal about her passion and reminds people to love the earth as they would love their mother. 

Nithya’s contributions to Recycle My Battery are numerous and varied. She helps with terminal protection for batteries, ensuring that they are properly insulated and stored for safe transportation and disposal. She assists with outreach efforts, speaking with schools and community groups to raise awareness of the importance of responsible battery disposal. And she plays a critical role in planning and executing all of Recycle My Battery’s activities and events, helping to ensure that each initiative is successful and impactful. 

Read more about what Nithya has to say about her volunteer work and the importance of proper battery disposal and recycling. 

Describe your volunteer role with Recycle My Battery. 

I help my brother, the founder of Recycle My battery, educate others. I do battery drives. I collect batteries and do terminal protection – when you tape up the batteries and investigate to ensure the batteries are safe for disposal. If you throw batteries away in the trash, they go into landfills, and the chemicals in the can batteries leak, causing fires and pollution. Can you imagine that right now we are eating polluted food and drinking polluted water due to batteries leaking in landfills? 

Battery drives are first a way to educate people if they don’t know about our organization. And we tell them where we keep our battery bins. If they have used batteries on them, they can dispose of them in the bins we bring for the drives. It’s also a chance for them to donate money to our organization. 

How did you get started with this? 

I got started around age 5, when I saw what my brother was doing. I knew it was a really important mission and I knew he had to get some help. So I decided to join Recycle My Battery and help my brother.  

Any rewarding stories from your volunteer work? 

I got two Presidents Volunteer Service Awards – one silver and one gold. I answered some questions, and we took pictures when Congressman Frank Pallone handed me the awards and medals. Getting two President Volunteer Service Awards is rewarding. 

Why is it important for people to get involved with the causes they care about? 

I think it’s important for people to take care of the environment and Mother Earth. My slogan is, “Our planet, our friend – let’s protect it til the end!”  

Just like we have friends, Mother Earth is our best friend. If you have batteries, please recycle them in battery bins!  

What’s your advice for people who want to start volunteering? 

I would say that at first, you could be nervous, but once you start doing it, it feels so exciting. And when you reach your goals, you feel very, very happy. Also, many people appreciate what we are doing. 

What do you want people to learn from your story? 

I want people to learn that if they have used batteries, make sure to recycle them in the proper battery bins. Never ever throw them in garbage bins!  

Do you want to make a difference in your community like Nithya? Find local volunteer opportunities.