An article in the New York Times (February 9,2013) describes lax tracking of the recycling of lead batteries exported from the US to Mexico. In the absence of treatment of used batteries as hazardous waste, shipments into Mexico are not synchronized with receipts by qualified recyclers. Some battery recycling plants in Mexico are estimated to release 30 times the lead emissions as their US counterparts. But the battery industry claims that tighter monitoring programs will cause burdensome certification costs. Should manufacturers of batteries be held responsible for safe disposal even across global locations? Should the environmental standards for recycling of US products even at global locations be set the same as US standards ? How should the cost of the burdensome certification be weighed against the environmental benefits of safe disposal ?