Context:
- India’s e-waste generation increased by 151% between 2017–18 and 2023–24, placing the country among the top five global e-waste generators, alongside China and the United States.
- Rapid urbanisation, digitalisation, short product life cycles, and rising consumerism have intensified the challenge.
- Despite a regulatory framework, only about 10% of e-waste is processed through formal channels, while the rest is handled by the informal sector, leading to severe environmental and health risks.
- The issue directly links GS Paper 3 (Environment & Ecology) and GS Paper 2 (Governance & Policy Implementation).
Key Highlights:
E-Waste Trends and Scale
- E-waste includes discarded electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) such as mobiles, computers, TVs, batteries, and appliances.
- India faces an economic loss of nearly $20 billion annually due to unutilised recoverable materials.
- Environmental degradation from improper disposal causes an additional $10 billion in damages each year.
Regulatory Framework – E-Waste (Management) Rules, 2022
- Introduced a strengthened Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) framework.
- Floor price mechanism for EPR certificates aims to:
- Ensure stable returns for authorised recyclers.
- Discourage under-pricing and unethical recycling practices.
- Promote formalisation and transparency in the recycling industry.
Role of the Informal Sector
- Dominates nearly 90% of e-waste processing.
- Practices include acid leaching, open burning, and crude dismantling.
- Leads to:
- Release of toxic metals such as lead, cadmium, mercury.
- Soil and groundwater contamination and urban air pollution.
- Severe occupational health hazards due to lack of safety standards.
Scientific and Conceptual Dimensions
- Toxicology: Explains health impacts of heavy metals causing neurological, respiratory, and reproductive disorders.
- Circular Economy: Focuses on reuse, recycling, and recovery to maintain material value and reduce raw material dependence.
Relevant Prelims Points:
- Issue: Rapid rise in e-waste due to digital growth and consumption patterns.
- Causes: Short product life cycles, poor awareness, weak enforcement, informal sector dominance.
- Government Initiatives:
- E-Waste (Management) Rules, 2016 & 2022
- Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) framework
- Promotion of formal recyclers and online EPR certificate trading.
- Benefits:
- Resource recovery of precious metals.
- Reduced environmental pollution.
- Employment generation in the formal green sector.
- Challenges:
- Possible cost inflation due to EPR floor pricing.
- Industry resistance over affordability concerns.
- Weak monitoring and compliance, especially for producers and brand owners.
- Impact: Improved urban environmental health and enhanced resource security.
Relevant Mains Points:
- Key Concepts & Definitions:
- Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR): Makes producers responsible for post-consumer waste management.
- Circular Economy: Minimises waste and maximises resource efficiency.
- Institutional Framework:
- Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC)
- Central and State Pollution Control Boards (CPCB/SPCBs).
- Governance Issues:
- Informal sector exclusion.
- Enforcement gaps and data transparency challenges.
- Way Forward:
- Gradual integration of informal workers into the formal system through training and safety norms.
- Strengthening digital tracking and auditing of EPR compliance.
- Incentivising eco-design and longer product life cycles.
- Public awareness on responsible consumption and disposal.
- Aligning e-waste policies with SDGs, especially SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production).