How Technology Can Help in eWaste Management

Automated data management

One of the key challenges in the Indian recycling industry is lack of data. “Can anyone say how much metal has been recovered from the recycling that has happened in the past two years? There is no data available,” says Satish Sinha, Associate Director with Toxics Link, an environmental research and advocacy organization.

However, the government has taken the initiative to build an online mass balance system to track the movement of e-waste in India. This would allow for automated data management, transparency, and reduced administrative load on authorities, as well as a change from traditional paper-based methods to electronic recording and improved enforcement of the EPR requirements of the Rules 2016. All of the primary parties in the e-waste channelisation process will be included in the mass balancing system: manufacturers, importers, port authorities/customs, bulk consumers, PROs, dismantlers, and recyclers.

In India, the e-waste recycling market is still in a nascent stage, wherein majority of the recycling projects are undertaken by the unorganized firms. In the prevalent e-waste ecosystem of India there are multiple hurdles that need to be solved urgently.

Lack of infrastructure

The difference between the amount of e-waste collected and recovered by authorized dismantlers/recyclers and the overall amount of e-waste created is enormous.

Existing recycling plants confront challenges ranging from a lack of ecologically friendly technology to a consistent supply of raw materials. This is mostly due to customers' lack of information about the harmful effects of improper e-waste recycling, which leads them to sell their electronic garbage to informal recyclers for quick cash because it is quicker and faster.

As a result, registered recycling facilities are unable to obtain a consistent supply of e-waste, which is critical to their survival.Currently, India's approved e-waste recycling facilities catch just a tiny percentage of total e-waste created, with the remainder going into informal recycling.

E-waste and Sustainability

Metals are difficult to recover in e-waste; for example, total cobalt recovery rates are below 30%. However, laptop, smartphone, and electric vehicle batteries are in great demand. Metals made from recycled ore use two to ten times less energy than metals made from virgin ore.

Furthermore, mining abandoned electronics generates 80 percent less carbon dioxide per unit of gold than mining gold from the soil. As a consequence, expanding the use of waste materials in electronic goods might help to achieve climate sustainability targets considerably.

With the introduction of novel technologies and regulations that promote ecologically friendly solutions being developed on a daily basis, it may not be long until we can return the earth to its previous state.