E-Waste: A Growing Problem

The country’s e-waste generation increased 43 per cent between FY18 and FY20. The pandemic-induced consumption of electronic devices is set to add to the problem in future

- Rukmini Rao

Little has changed over the years in the narrow bylanes of Seelampur in the national capital, India’s largest unorganised ewaste recycling hub, as hundreds of establishments, big and small, salvage computer peripherals, laptops, mobile phones and other electronic waste in the most unscientific way. Government regulations on e-waste management have had little impact here.

If Seelampur represents how India has decided to handle one of modernity’s biggest problems — e-waste — things are hardly better in other parts of the country. India is now officially the world’s third-biggest e-waste generator, producing over 3.23 million metric tonnes of e-waste per year, behind the US and China. While hardly anything ends up in a landfill, the big worry is that 95 per cent of e-waste still continues to be handled by the informal sector.

India’s e-waste generation has risen nearly 43 per cent between FY18 and FY20. The pandemic-induced increase in use of electronic devices is set to accentuate this problem in the near future. A study by KPMG and ASSOCHAM says computer equipment account for almost 70 per cent of e-waste in India, followed by telecom/phones (12 per cent), electrical equipment (8 per cent) and medical equipment (7 per cent).