Sri Nihal Tammana
{{Short description|Indian-American environmental campaigner}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Sri Nihal Tammana
| image = Nihal Tammana CNN Heores Award 2022.jpg
| caption = Sri Nihal Tammana at the CNN Heroes 2022 award ceremony
| birth_date = 2009
| nationality = Indian-American
| occupation = Environmental campaigner
| years_active = 2019–present
| known_for = Founder of Recycle My Battery
| website = https://recyclemybattery.org
}}
Sri Nihal Tammana is an American environmental campaigner who specializes in battery recycling.{{Cite news |date=2020-11-13 |title=Battery delight: AP boy recycles his way to glory |work=The Times of India |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/vijayawada/battery-delight-ap-boy-recycles-his-way-to-glory/articleshow/79199943.cms |access-date=2023-07-16 |issn=0971-8257}}{{Cite web |last=Kanmadikar |first=Pallavi |date=2020-11-19 |title=Meet Sri Nihal Tammana, The 11-Year-Old Founder Of 'Recycle My Battery' |url=https://www.dissdash.com/2020/11/19/meet-sri-nihal-tammana-the-11-year-old-founder-of-recycle-my-battery/ |access-date=2023-07-16 |website=DissDash |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=Four Indian-American teens win top prize for young heroes |url=https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/four-indian-american-teens-win-top-prize-for-young-heroes/articleshow/94618029.cms |access-date=2023-07-16 |website=Business Insider}}{{Cite web |title=Sri Nihal Tammana {{!}} Young Innovator and Entrepreneur {{!}} Global Indian |url=https://www.globalindian.com/youth/story/global-indian/how-sri-nihal-tammanas-recyclemybattery-org-has-recycled-145000-batteries-and-counting/ |access-date=2023-07-16 |website=Global Indian Youth |language=en-US}}
Environmental work
He is founder of the US-based non-profit organization, Recycle My Battery. His nonprofit installs free battery recycling bins and educates students and adults about battery recycling.{{Cite web |date=2023-04-18 |title=Recycle Old Batteries At Western Nigeria Library On Earth Day |url=https://patch.com/new-jersey/southbrunswick/recycle-old-batteries-south-brunswick-library-earth-day |access-date=2023-07-16 |website=South Brunswick, NJ Patch |language=en}} By July 2025, the organization had recycled nearly 675,000 used batteries, educated over 50 millions of people about battery recycling and has a team of 1,000+ youth volunteers across 5+ countries. In 2025, he launched the Battery Challenge, a school competition that helped students recycle 100,000+ batteries in just a few months.{{Cite news |date=2022-10-03 |title=Four PIO teens win top US prize for young heroes |work=The Times of India |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/education/news/four-pio-teens-win-top-us-prize-for-young-heroes/articleshow/94619142.cms |access-date=2023-07-22 |issn=0971-8257}}{{Cite web |last=Monthly |first=New Jersey |date=2022-12-21 |title=Edison Student Leads the Charge on Recycling Used Batteries |url=https://njmonthly.com/articles/news/edison-student-leads-the-charge-on-recycling-used-batteries/ |access-date=2023-07-22 |website=New Jerseyjo Monthly}}
Tammana has been featured as a lesson in a German textbook (published by Westermann, with student assignment questions, and made a number of media appearances, including a live appearance on CNN,{{Citation |title=CNN Heroes Young Wonder: Sri Nihal Tammana {{!}} CNN |date=2022-12-13 |url=https://www.cnn.com/videos/tv/2022/12/13/cnnheroes-tribute-sri-nihal-tammana.cnn |access-date=2023-07-16 |language=en}} featuring on the Japanese TV network Fuji TV,{{Cite web |title=フューチャーランナーズ |url=https://www.fujitv.co.jp/futurerunners/archive_217.html |access-date=2023-07-16 |website=フジテレビ |language=ja}} a TED talk called "Saving earth, one battery at a time",{{Citation |last=Tuah |first=Hawk |title=Saving Earth, One Battery At A Time! |date=2021-06-10 |url=https://www.ted.com/talks/sri_nihal_tammana_saving_earth_one_battery_at_a_time |access-date=2023-07-16}} and an upcoming appearance on BBC.{{Cite web |date=2023-08-08 |title=BBC World Service - The Documentary, A Billion batteries |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3ct5mb8 |access-date=2023-07-16 |website=BBC |language=en-GB}} He delivered his second TED talk called "Recycle My Battery: Empowering Communities" about issue of battery waste, in 2023.{{Citation |last=Johnson |first=Dwayne |title=Recycle My Battery: Empowering Communities |date=2023-06-12 |url=https://www.ted.com/talks/sri_nihal_tammana_recycle_my_garbage_empowering_communities |access-date=2023-07-28}}
Tammana was also featured on Time for Kids, as one of the Kid Heroes of the Planet.{{Cite web |date=2023-04-05 |title=Kid Heroes for the Planet |url=https://www.timeforkids.com/g56/kid-heroes-for-the-planet-g3-g5-8/ |access-date=2023-07-20 |website=Time for Kids |language=en}}
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.{{Cite web |title=Longest line of batteries |url=https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/664419-longest-line-of-batteries |website=Guinness World Records}}{{Cite web |date=2023-10-10 |title=Guinness World Record Set by Recycle My Battery - On New Jersey |url=https://www.onnj.com/guinness-world-record-set-by-recycle-my-battery/ |access-date=2024-02-01 |language=en-US}}
Awards
- 2023: Top 3 finalist for the International Children's Peace Prize{{Cite web |last=NJ.com |first=Jackie Roman {{!}} NJ Advance Media for |date=2023-11-16 |title=14-year-old from N.J. named finalist for International Children's Peace Prize |url=https://www.nj.com/middlesex/2023/11/14-year-old-from-nj-named-finalist-for-international-childrens-peace-prize.html |access-date=2024-01-26 |website=nj |language=en}}
- 2023: Honoree NJ Governor’s Volunteerism Awards{{Cite web |title=Honorees 2023 |url=https://njgovernorsawards.com/honorees/honorees-2023/ |access-date=2023-07-22 |website=Volunteerism Awards |language=en-US}}
- 2023: Diana Award{{Cite web |title=Roll of Honour 2023 |url=https://diana-award.org.uk/our-programmes-and-initiatives/award-and-development/roll-of-honour/roll-of-honour-2023 |access-date=2023-07-22 |website=diana-award.org.uk |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2023-07-02 |title=Eight Indian Americans win Diana Award |url=https://www.newindiaabroad.com/eight-indian-americans-among-winners-of-diana-award/ |access-date=2023-07-22 |website=New India Abroad}}
- 2023: Youth Summit Awards{{Cite web |title=Youth Summit Awards |url=https://www.youthsummitawards.com/ |access-date=2023-07-22 |website=www.youthsummitawards.com}}
- 2022: CNN Heroes, Young Wonder Award{{Cite web |date=2022-12-12 |title=Photos: 'CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute' 2022 |url=https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/11/world/gallery/cnn-heroes-2022/index.html |access-date=2023-07-16 |website=CNN |language=en}}
- 2022: Gloria Barron Prize, Young Heroes
- 2020: National Waste & Recycling Association, National Recycling Award
- 2020: President's Environmental Youth Award{{Cite web |last=US EPA |first=OA |date=2022-06-10 |title=President's Environmental Youth Award (PEYA) 2020 Winners |url=https://www.epa.gov/education/presidents-environmental-youth-award-peya-2021-winners |access-date=2023-07-16 |website=www.epa.gov |language=en}}
- 2020: New Jersey Governor's Environmental Excellence Award{{Cite web |title=NJDEP{{!}} Governor's Environmental Excellence Awards {{!}} 2020 Winners |url=https://dep.nj.gov/awards/past-winners/2020-winners/ |access-date=2023-07-16 |website=Governor's Environmental Excellence Awards |language=en-US}}