I have been called naive before, but I am not actually saying that EVs will avoid the consumption of all plastics and that from day one they are the PERFECT solution with regard to sustainability.
What I am saying is that EV technology presents a step change towards becoming more sustainable.
Once again, you are practically highlighting your own misconception.
You are comparing a spent battery to a discarded tyre. Let's think this through:
First of all, a worn tyre has lost some of its mass through wear and tear. A battery has lost none.
A new tyre costs of the order of a hundred to a thousand dollars, while batteries currently cost tens of thousands of dollars.
Importantly, once batteries are no longer suitable for EVs, they can first be re-purposed for other applications - like for domestic applications to store solar rooftop energy.
Finally, you are wrong to think that battery recycling represents a COST. It is cheaper to recycle than to mine and there are already a number of EV battery recycling business getting ready to become profitable as volumes increase (it might still be a decade or two, before you actually get sufficient volumes of batteries for profits to become meaningful).
VW already has a battery recycling plant in Salzgitter. They aim to recycle 97% of the battery materials. Currently they are only managing 57%, but the new plant in Salzgitter will increase this to 72%:
Other EV battery recycling businesses are mentioned here:
