E-waste, the fastest-growing waste stream worldwide, is a global sustainability challenge emanating from the proliferation of technology in a consumer-driven society, which discards millions of tons of electronic devices each year.
Old cellphones, computers, laptops, televisions and household appliances contain harmful materials such as lead, mercury, and other toxic chemicals, which have a devastating effect on the environment and health.
India, is the world’s third-largest generator of e-waste while South Africa, generating over 360000 tons of e-waste annually, is grappling with its own e-waste challenge. Only a small fraction (about 10%) of South African e-waste is properly managed; the rest ends up in landfills or is illegally dumped, posing serious risks to the ecosystem. Both countries are using the circular economy model – reusing and regenerating e-waste materials to continue production in a sustainable friendly way – to mitigate against e-waste, to varying degrees of success.
Pretoria’s waste laws do not allow the disposal of e-waste to landfill but promotes the diversion of this waste stream from landfill for recycling purposes. The Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) legislation compels South African producers of electronic products to take-back and ensure proper recycling thereof. However, formal recycling is currently limited with the bulk of the country’s e-waste being processed in the informal sector using unsafe methods, which resultin the release of toxic chemicals and expose communities to serious health risks.
Like South Africa, the bulk of India’s e-waste is managed informally using unsafe methods. New Delhi has now embarked on a tech-driven initiative to shift e-waste management from informal dumps to formal recycling using circular-economy models, digital tools, stricter regulations, and corporate and community awareness. India’s sustainable e-waste management initiative has been boosted by the launch of a five-year project, supported by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), with a total investment of $120 million – $15 million in financing from the GEF, and over $105m in co-finance from the Indian government and the privatesector. The money will be used to, among others, enforce e-waste regulations, promote circular business models and safe recycling systems, and fund recovery infrastructure for valuable materials.The collaboration aims to transform India’s electronics sector through environmentally sound e-waste management and circular economy practices, promoting safer recovery of valuable materials and recycling.
It is underpinned by a mindset that regards discarded gadgets, computers, etc, as sources of critical raw material and not mere waste.
India’s shift towards a more sustainable e-waste management policy using digital tools is backed by stricter regulations, and increased corporate and consumer awareness. Its use of digital logistics is buttressed by efforts to recover more value from e-waste through advanced recycling technologies capable of extracting critical minerals and metals.
The Indian government is upscaling formal recycling infrastructure, and plans are afoot to build the country’s first major e-waste Eco-Park through a public-private partnership model. With a capacity for handling large volumes of discarded electronics, it is expected to process over 50 000 metric tons of e-waste annually.
A biomedical and electronics-waste facility in Visakhapatnam’s MedTech Zone in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, is mooted as a model for future state-level e-waste infrastructure. The facility is operating under a zero-waste model, to recover high-purity metals, offering doorstep pickup, and ensuring digital traceability.For India the circular economy is no longer an idealistic vision but a practical industrial framework, wherein discarded gadgets are no longer regarded as just toxic refuse, but a source of critical raw materials and opportunities for a sustainable industry.
On the other hand, South Africa’s e-waste circular economy, hamstrung as it is by weak infrastructure, lack of funding, low public awareness, fragmented policy, and the dominance of hazardous informal recycling, still has some way to go.
* Fawzia Moodley is a freelance reporter.
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