Angela Xu/ Shanghai Daily news

Fishermen in Nantong, Jiangsu Province can now exchange dead batteries for new ones free of charge as part of a pilot project meant to cut down on the millions of batteries tossed into the East China Sea every year, Shanghai Daily reported.

The exchange scheme was launched last week by the East China Sea fishery administration, which is worried that heavy metals in the batteries will seep into the water and poison fish and other sea food, a large portion of which ends up on local diner tables.