India’s Rising e-waste

India’s Rising e-waste

Syllabus

GS 3: Environment Pollution and degradation

Why in the News?

India’s e-waste surged by over 151% in six years, prompting debate around the effectiveness of the new EPR floor price, which aims to curb informal recycling and protect the environment.

Introduction

• India’s digital growth has led to a massive surge in electronic waste.
• While devices like smartphones and medical equipment power development, their disposal has become a crisis.
• Poor e-waste management causes environmental and economic losses.
• The floor price for EPR certificates is emerging as a vital solution for formalising recycling.

India’s Digital Growth and the E-Waste Challenge

• India is undergoing rapid digital transformation on the path to becoming a Viksit Bharat (developed nation).
• Increasing use of electronic devices, from mobile phones and laptops to industrial and medical tools is fuelling growth, innovation, and connectivity.
• However, this rising reliance on electronics generates a parallel stream of waste: electronic waste or e-waste.
• India now ranks among the top global e-waste generators, along with China, the United States, Japan, and Germany.
• E-waste in India has jumped by 151.03% in just six years.
• It increased from 7,08,445 metric tonnes in 2017–18 to 17,78,400 metric tonnes in 2023–24, with an annual growth rate of 1,69,283 metric tonnes.

What Is Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR)?

• EPR stands for Extended Producer Responsibility, a policy that mandates producers, importers, and brand owners to take responsibility for their products after end-of-life.
• It means manufacturers must manage the disposal, recycling, or reuse of their products even after consumers discard them.
• This responsibility includes:
  • Reducing environmental impacts throughout the product lifecycle.
  • Promoting eco-friendly designs.
  • Including environmental costs in product pricing.
  • Supporting efficient and formal waste management systems.
• EPR is crucial in shifting the waste burden away from municipalities and onto the producers who introduce electronic products to the market.

Impact of Improper E-Waste Management in India

• Mismanagement of e-waste creates environmental, health, social, and economic losses.

Environmental Losses:

• India loses more than $10 billion every year due to environmental pollution.
• Water pollution arises from the release of cyanide and sulphuric acid into water bodies.
• Air pollution results from burning of plastic and lead fumes.
• Soil pollution is caused by improper disposal of toxic materials.

Social Impact

• Informal, often illegal recycling practices dominate the sector.
• About 95% of e-waste is processed by unregulated workers, mainly women and children.
• These workers are exposed to harmful substances like mercury and lead without any safety measures.
• The average lifespan of informal e-waste workers is less than 27 years due to continuous toxic exposure.

Economic Loss

• Over ₹80,000 crore worth of valuable critical metals (like gold and copper) are lost annually due to inefficient and unsafe extraction methods.
• At least $20 billion is lost in tax revenue each year as the informal sector operates in cash and remains undocumented.
• Informal recycling deprives the economy of both materials and monetary value.

Need for a Floor Price in EPR Certificate System

• The E-waste (Management) Rules, 2022 introduced a floor price for EPR certificates.
• A floor price ensures minimum guaranteed returns for certified recyclers, providing economic security and encouraging safe practices.

It serves as a tool to:

• Discourage the informal sector by making formal recycling economically viable.
• Boost investment in recycling infrastructure.
• Make the formal system competitive enough to challenge the cost advantages of the informal sector.
• Unlock the value of critical metals like copper and gold through advanced technology.

How Floor Price Encourages Formalisation and Innovation

• Stable prices give recyclers the confidence to adopt advanced technologies and expand operations.
• A fair compensation mechanism motivates recyclers to prioritise material recovery over unsafe disposal.
• It turns e-waste from a liability into a valuable asset by recovering reusable resources.
• It ensures less e-waste reaches landfills and prevents toxins like mercury and lead from polluting soil and water.
• The global experience shows that EPR fees abroad are significantly higher than India’s current floor price.
• India must align with such global best practices to ensure meaningful outcomes.
• Floor pricing helps the system avoid failures experienced in other waste sectors like plastics, where low prices led to:
  • Sham recyclers,
  • Poor compliance, and
  • A collapse of trust in the recycling framework.

Correcting Market Imbalance and Driving Compliance

• An effective floor price corrects the imbalance between formal and informal recyclers.
• It ensures that certified recyclers receive enough money to cover:
  • Technological investment,
  • Labour costs,
  • Infrastructure upgrades.
• Producers meet their legal obligations through verifiable recycling practices, promoting compliance.
• A reliable pricing system avoids sudden market crashes where certificate prices fall drastically, causing recyclers to run out of money.
• Predictable pricing builds trust in the system, preventing it from degenerating into a chaotic, unregulated market.

Common Criticism and Counterarguments

• Some argue that setting a floor price will raise costs for producers and ultimately consumers.
• However, this view ignores the massive long-term costs of inaction:
  • Health damage,
  • Pollution clean-up,
  • Loss of critical materials,
  • Untaxed, unaccounted economic activity.
• Producers can reduce their compliance costs by designing longer-lasting and recyclable products.
• This aligns with the very goal of EPR to create sustainable production systems.
• Innovation is encouraged when fair prices reward efficient and environmentally sound recycling.

Lessons from the Plastic Waste Crisis

• The plastic waste sector’s failure due to low EPR prices is a cautionary example.
• It led to:
  • Fraudulent recyclers,
  • Collapse in trust,
  • Failure to meet waste management goals.
• E-waste must not follow the same path. Stable pricing must ensure:
  • Quality control,
  • Real accountability,
  • Viable operations for genuine recyclers.

Vision for E-Waste Recycling in India

• The floor price is not just an economic tool; it’s the foundation of a national recycling vision.
• It recognises recycling as a critical component of sustainability and economic efficiency.
• India must formalise its e-waste sector to:
  • Prevent toxic exposure,
  • Protect public health,
  • Promote responsible use of scarce resources.
• The current rise in e-waste a 73% increase in just five years is a wake-up call.
• India can no longer afford to delay systemic reforms in e-waste recycling.

Turning E-Waste into Opportunity

• With a robust floor price mechanism:
  • India can lead the world in responsible e-waste management.
  • It can create new jobs in the formal recycling sector.
  • It can significantly reduce pollution and environmental degradation.
• This will not only support the circular economy but also make sustainable growth a reality.

Conclusion

Introducing a floor price for EPR certificates is essential for formalising recycling, protecting the environment, and supporting India’s sustainable growth. It transforms e-waste into opportunity, ensuring long-term economic and ecological security.

Circular Economy

A Circular Economy is an economic system aimed at eliminating waste and continuously using resources. Unlike the traditional linear model (take–make–dispose), it focuses on reducing, reusing, recycling, and recovering materials in production and consumption.

Key Principles:

1. Design out waste and pollution
2. Keep products and materials in use
3. Regenerate natural systems

Benefits:

• Reduces environmental impact
• Conserves resources and energy
• Promotes sustainable production
• Creates green jobs

India’s Initiatives:

• NITI Aayog promotes circularity in sectors like electronics, plastic, construction, and agriculture.
• Supports Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) and resource efficiency.

Source

The Hindu

Mains Practice Question

Discuss the role of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) in addressing the challenges of e-waste management in India.