E-waste piles up as recycling remains informal

Bengaluru: In the annals of human history, the 20th and 21st centuries have become characterised by the use of technology. The fossils of this age, already populating landfills, will remain there for a million years from now.

Here, toxic leachates will continue to pollute the water and soil for generations. Such is the landscape of discarded devices and out-of-use hardware. Close to 67% of India’s e-waste remains unprocessed, according to the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change.

The proportion that is recycled is passed through a highly informal network — where workers from socially vulnerable backgrounds dismantle, aggregate and melt down e-waste despite the occupational hazards.

Rajesh (name changed), an informal recycler in Bengaluru, who collects and processes consumer electronics, uses a hammer to separate different components. For the 20 years that he has been in the business, he has been using the same method. “There are people who use specialised equipment. This provides some protection from the metals, but one machine can cost about Rs 2 lakh,” he says.

The quantity of e-waste has only been rising. “People do not know what to do with computers, laptops and mobile phones, there is a never-ending supply,” says Rajesh. Even with a high volume of e-waste, he is able to earn only Rs 450 to 500 per day.

India bears the distinction for being the third-largest producer of e-waste in the world. The data provided by the Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs, Tokhan Sahu, in Parliament in 2024 indicates a sharp (72.54%) increase in e-waste production since 2019.

Each year, computers contribute nearly 70% of total e-waste, and the telecom sector accounts for 12%, according to a 2016 report by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India. 

There is a gross mismatch between the generation of electronic waste and the recycling capacity of the country. Though the proportion of e-waste processed rose from 22% in 2019-20 to 43% in 2023-24, a lion’s share remains unprocessed. 

Coming into force two years ago, the E-Waste (Management) Rules 2022 aimed to introduce environmentally sound processing technologies to help formalise the sector. Yet, most of the sector (95%) still perseveres in the shadows.

The sector is rife with unscientific handling of electronic components. This not only hinders effective recycling but also leads to the release of pollutants that jeopardise both human and environmental health. 

“The government appears to be thinking that it has done its job in introducing the law, but the implementation is the key which is missing,” says B N Kumar, director of the Mumbai-based environment watchdog NatConnect Foundation. 

The transition 

Some who have the means have been able to make the transition to becoming licensed recyclers. For instance, Tauheed Pasha’s operation in Bengaluru largely pertained to dismantling before the rules came into force. 

“We would extract the waste and sell it to aggregators who would further process it. After the rules changed, we have had to invest to buy specialised equipment,” he says. 

In total, the transition cost Rs 30 lakh — including the purchase of a wire separator, furnaces and the government fee for licensing, which cost Rs 1.4 lakh by itself. 

The 2022 framework specifies that entities that are unlicensed are prohibited from operating. “Bulk consumers of electronics are eager to work with licensed e-waste operators,” Pasha says. Today, his facility is able to process about 150 to 200 tonnes of electronic waste in a year.  

The high investment involved in recycling and reduction in orders from electronics  companies, for the fair price, has discouraged many of the dismantlers to upgrade to a recycling license, says Shobha Raghavan, chief executive officer of the Bengaluru-based Saahas Zero Waste. The company provides solid waste management services for corporates and EPR services for plastic and e-waste producers. 

“Many dismantlers have gone out of business since bulk consumers are looking for licensed recyclers. There is a need to involve all stakeholders in making the transition,” she says. Without harnessing the informal network and making significant investments towards their upgrade, the country’s recycling capacity will continue to stagnate, she adds.

The 2022 rules also revised the pricing metric for e-waste, factoring in the recovery of metals. Many producer companies and bulk waste generators protested the order. “We are aware that there is some unrest between producers and recyclers. Since the machinery is not specialised, recovery rates are low and many in the industry have expressed displeasure,” says an official from the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board. 

The official admits that the cost of equipment has been prohibitive. “There are few economically viable solutions. We have brought this to the notice of the Central Pollution Control Board, hoping to put in place some incentives in land allotment or assistance with the purchase of the machinery,” he says. 

Across the country, only 527 registered recyclers operate, according to data from the Central Pollution Control Board. 

Occupational hazard

Most at risk of improper disposal and processing is the e-waste produced by smaller businesses and households. According to a 2020 report by the United Nations Institute for Training and Research, approximately 83% of e-waste generated in India is of undocumented origin. The report estimates that a large portion of this waste could be coming from small businesses and households. 

At every stage of this recycling process, workers are exposed to toxic substances that pose serious health risks. 

Electronic devices harbour hazardous compounds — such as polychlorinated biphenyls and polybrominated biphenyls — and heavy metals, including arsenic, chromium, cadmium and mercury. 

Initially, workers dismantle and segregate the various components with hammers, chisels and other tools. The separated parts are then aggregated and sold to metal extractors, who, using open fires, melt the materials to recover precious metals such as gold, silver and copper. This rudimentary approach not only amplifies the exposure to toxic substances but also further endangers the health of those involved.

The printed circuit board, for example, is composed of some of these metals and plastic. “How do you separate this? You have to try melting it in a way that one component melts. In the process of heating, if there is inadequate heat or if the components are inappropriately handled, it can cause the release of harmful gases and harm the handler,” says H S Sudhira, a researcher with Gubbi Labs, whose work focuses on the evolution of towns and cities. The presence of plastic, which has a low combustion point, also poses dangers due to harmful emissions, he adds.

Without adequate safety gear, exposure to e-waste recycling can cause respiratory, skin and bronchial conditions. “The e-waste recycling process requires a sophisticated ecosystem with adequate safety equipment. Investing in the processing pathways becomes important,” says Sudhira. 

In the matter of the safety of workers in the e-waste recycling ecosystem, there has been little progress. “There has been no observed improvement in the collection and segregation of e-waste. With authorised recyclers, perhaps this change is more visible, but with informal workers, the process has remained the same for the past 20 years,” says Satish Sinha, associate director of Toxics Link, a New Delhi-based NGO working on environmental pollution due to toxic materials.

Circular economy 

The importance of efficiently recycling materials found in e-waste is captured by the maxim, ‘waste is the only growing resource’. The adoption of more modern and efficient recycling techniques also means increased recovery of valuable materials. “You are not able to maximise the resources that are recovered from e-waste in the informal ecosystem,” says Satish. 

Current recycling technologies are capable of recovering secondary raw material worth $3.6 billion. Yet, merely $1.1 billion is recovered today, primarily by informal recyclers, according to a study by Redseer analysis.

India recycles about 70% of iron, 45% of copper, and 35% of aluminium, far below developed markets, which achieve 90%, 75%, and 75%, respectively.

Additionally, there is a need to adequately develop the back-end of e-waste processing to make the recovery and sale of metal more transparent. Sudhira cites the example of plastic recycling, where vendors have developed a fairly efficient process. “Based on the grade of plastic, recyclers are able to make pellets out of it and sell it to polyester or fibre manufacturing companies,” explains Sudhira. In the e-waste recycling sector, the post-recovery secondary raw material market is yet to be fully realised.  

Locked away 

The recovery of secondary raw materials presents new opportunities — with a reduced focus on mining for new materials. Experts state that it is also imperative to streamline e-waste which is being improperly disposed of. Many devices, for example, remain stored in households. 

For instance, Preethi M (name changed), a professional in the development sector, has held on to an old tablet and two laptops for more than a decade. “Even though the devices stopped functioning, we are unable to dispose of them. We do not know how our information on these devices may be treated,” she says. Several people in her social circle share these apprehensions and have advised her to soak the electronics in water before passing them down the line to recycle. 

“I know that this is not a solution, but the advice only highlights how little information there is about how the waste will be dealt with,” she says.

A recent report by the India Cellular and Electronics Association revealed that Indian households have approximately 206 million unused devices. The survey respondents revealed that they store close to four unused devices over the years. 

“After a device cannot be revived, I generally put it in dry waste since there are no recyclers close to my house,” says Sahana, a resident of Bengaluru. With little to no awareness about disposal procedures for e-waste, many urban residents often rely on existing waste management structures for disposal. 

There are extensive lacunae in the public’s understanding of e-waste recycling processes. To properly dispose of e-waste, end-consumers are expected to take it to an authorised e-waste collection centre or contact a producer responsibility organisation for a pick up. 

“From college students to 80-year-olds, there is clearly little awareness about these things, which is a huge problem. To even think about a circular economy where resources that are limited are recycled, everyone, particularly consumers, need to be made aware of the process,” says Satish. 

Closing the gap

The path to build a circular economy also involves examining the rate of consumption of  electronic devices. The rapid turnover, juxtaposed with a lack of processing capacity, has shaped the e-waste crisis as we see it today. A 2022 study conducted among over a thousand residents in Delhi corroborates this. More than half of the surveyed residents disposed of their phones within one and three years. 

Bharath, a design professional based in Goa, explains that most gadgets seem to be built to last for a year or two. A recent purchase of wireless earphones evidenced this phenomenon. When his device stopped functioning twice, Bharath reached out with the customer service division of a well-known company. “The earphones stopped working twice, and both times, I was eager for the product to be repaired. However, both times, the company offered to replace the earphones with new ones,” he says. 

The instance also underscores the climate of the consumption of electronics ​​vis-à-vis the planned obsolescence of technology. Defined as the manufacture of products with intentionally short lifespans, these strategies force consumers to make frequent replacements, contributing to higher e-waste loads. 

Manufacturers might employ irreplaceable batteries, flimsy material in manufacturing, incomplete repair ecosystems and incompatible software as a part of these strategies. 

The resultant cost to the environment is, without a doubt, too high. An estimated 852 million metric tonnes of CO2 compounds will be emitted by 2030 globally, without regulation or a legal framework to extend the useful life of information and communication technology devices, according to researchers from the University of California, Irvine. 

The growing e-waste crisis calls for urgent intervention. While policies and technology offer solutions, the gap between waste generation and recovery remains wide. Strengthening formal recycling, supporting informal workers and raising awareness are crucial.

At the same time, a shift away from disposable design and fleeting consumption is needed. Without a collective course correction, discarded devices will continue to pile up — silent relics of a world too quick to replace and too slow to repair.

(With inputs from Mrityunjay Bose in Mumbai)