What should be done with electronic waste?

Subject :Environment

Section: Pollution

Context:

Indian Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA) on August 28 released a report on ‘Pathways to Circular Economy in Indian Electronics Sector,’ following a government effort with NITI Aayog to explore opportunities to harness e-waste.
According to the report there could be an additional $7 billion market opportunity in harnessing e-waste.

ICEA:

India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA) is the apex industry body of mobile and electronics industry comprising manufacturers, brand owners, technology providers, VAS application & solution providers, distributors and retail chains of mobile handsets and electronics devices.
Vision: To establish India as a Global Electronics Manufacturing HUB with major focus on exports.
Mission: To create a robust eco-system for electronics manufacturing in India and transform the nation into a gigantic global leader.steve trevor watch replica reddit where to buy rolex replicas garmin replica watch rolex replica vs original

Does India have e-waste management?

The Union Government notified the E-Waste (Management) Rules, 2022 in order to digitize the process and provide more visibility to the movement of e-waste in the economy.
E-waste management and recycling are largely informal in India.
- Roughly 90% of collection and 70% of the recycling are managed by a very competitive informal sector.
Industrial hubs like Moradabad, where printed circuit boards (PCBs) arrive in the tonnes to have gold and silver melted out of them and sold.

Why is e-waste recycling successful among the informal sector?

The informal sector relies on a number of tools and techniques to stay competitive, a term used for this is ‘cannibalisation,’ a euphemism for repair shops buying whole devices and breaking them down to serve as spare parts for repair. As tariffs for finished products are sometimes lower than they are for parts, this works out in the repair shop’s favor.

Circular economy:

A circular economy seeks to bring the used and damaged electronic products back into the electronics ecosystem.
By 2019, China ensured that 5% of their secondary raw material went into manufacturing of new products. By 2030, they are targeting 35%.
E-waste contains several base and precious metals such as gold, silver, copper, nickel, and palladium.

How can e-waste be recycled?

The ICEA report suggests:
- Public-private partnerships to distribute the costs of setting up a sprawling “reverse supply chain,” an expensive prospect that envisages collecting devices from users, wiping them clean of personal data, and passing them along for further processing and recycling.
- Launching of an auditable database of materials collected through this process, and creating geographical clusters where these devices come together and are broken apart.
- Incentivising the ‘high yield’ recycling centers.
- Supporting the ‘Right to Repair’ movement.
MeiTy launched a scheme last April to cover 25% of the capital expenditure on such facilities.

Challenges associated: