[marcosdumay]

On your first link: "Overall, newer phones were less toxic than their older counterparts".

That's the thing, unless we have a very good reason, we should improve things, not make them worse.

Also, the stuff your second link talks about lasts for a decade or two at the environment, and then it's gone. While the fire risk of batteries lasts for a year or so.

A very good recycling program is a way to use make widespread use of those things. A very good protocol for handling them as trash is also one. But just landfilling them in mass isn't.

[vlovich123]

You have to take a systemic view. Fewer batteries going into the landfill and not needing any of the toxic industry involved in making those batteries could very well be a better trade off, especially since the battery can be reclaimed and repurposed elsewhere. I think this “it has to be an improvement on all fronts” attitude is actually harmful to making forward progress. And “less toxic” is also information-free because it’s not quantified nor is it a systemic analysis because that kind of analysis is quite hard to do. So yeah, it’s very possible that a radioactive battery is net better than chemical ones. It might bring new challenges but that’s true of all tech improvements.