Welcome to the Evolving Folks Project’s Evolved “Young” Man of the Week profile. Today, we will highlight historical and contemporary figures who embody what it means to be an evolved person, famous and non-famous. The world needs to know their stories and deeds. This week’s honor goes to the New Jersey Native, environmental campaigner and teen wonder, Sri Nihal Tammana.
He created the US non-profit organization Recycle My Battery. This organization educates people of all ages about battery recycling and provides free recycling bins. In February 2025, the organization’s achievements included recycling nearly 655,000 used batteries and educating over 42 million people about battery recycling. He’s been the winner and nominated for many awards. Including President’s Environmental Youth Award, and Honoree NJ Governor’s Volunteerism Awards.
Tammana’s accomplishments include a feature in a Westermann German textbook, a CNN appearance, a Fuji TV appearance, a TED Talk (“Saving earth, one battery at a time”), and a forthcoming BBC appearance. Tammana received recognition as a Kid Hero of the Planet in Time for Kids. He also set to Guinness World Record for the Longest Line of Batteries, creating a line of 31,204 batteries.
At the tender age of 10, a news report about a lithium-ion battery explosion at a waste facility deeply moved Nihal Tammana. This incident sparked a fire within him, igniting his passion for environmental causes and his resolve to take action against the dangers of discarded batteries.
Through his non-profit, Recycle My Battery, 15-year-old Tammana has facilitated recycling over 625,000 batteries and installed over 1,000 recycling bins across schools, libraries, and businesses. RecycleMyBattery.org provides instructions to help schools and businesses become battery recycling leaders.
His plan to put battery bins in schools across Australia is now backed by B-cycle, Australia’s leading battery recycling company. Their support is important in making this initiative a reality and shows the importance of partnerships in achieving sustainability goals.
Nihal is developing a prototype (University of Waterloo expert-confirmed) for his Residual Charge Project. This innovative project uses energy recovered from used batteries to power recycling plants, potentially reducing the recycling process’s carbon footprint and making it more sustainable.
Recycle My Battery impacts more than just the U.S. Globally, its 1,000 youth volunteers are educating people on the negative implications of tossing batteries in the trash. Their efforts are crucial in preventing incidents. Like the one investigated by the non-profit, where a failing battery caused a dramatic rise in soil salinity, making plant growth impossible.
Through initiatives such as The Battery Challenge, a gamified school program, Tammana seeks community and organizational partnerships to recycle one million batteries by the end of the year. The Battery Challenge is a fun and educational way for students to learn about the importance of battery recycling and contribute to a cleaner, healthier planet. It involves everything from establishing battery bins to raising awareness.
The Evolving Folks Project congratulates Tammana for his impactful efforts to curb waste and protect the environment. We wish him all the best for his future endeavors as a future leader in the effort to curb climate change. Today, we honor Sri Nihal Tammana as our Evolved “Young” Man of the Week.
Evolving Folks Project 