The country’s e-waste levels are expected to grow to 20 million metric tonnes by 2020.
Times of India reported on the new prediction, which would see a huge growth from the current level of 3.2 million metric tonnes over the next four years. Despite this, the news site notes that this would represent “monetary value of recoveries” of around $20 billion (€17 billion) by 2020 as well, which could be positive for both e-waste collectors and recyclers across the country.
It also notes that the “rapid growth of generation of e-waste” can be seen to be “directly associated” with India’s growth, with more than 90 percent of e-waste “collected and dismantled” by companies that only have “profit motive in mind”, with health and safety taking a “back seat”. One e-waste company, Eco Recycling Ltd (Ecoreco), has decided to “resolve this ongoing e-waste problem” by focusing on the “need to have a strong bridge for communities”.
The company calls itself the “first professional e-waste management company” in India, and has launched the ‘E-Waste Mukta Bharat: Swachh Bharat’ social drive to “contribute to the Prime Minister’s mission”, ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’, which aims to “clean up India”. As part of the drive, e-waste collection centres would be provided “to the masses, so that every item of e-waste generated […] can be deposited in allocated areas at various locations”.
Ecoreco plans to install 100,000 ‘Eco-Bins’ and 5,000 Ecoreco takeback points across the country by 2020, with the bins “specially designed to collect e-waste” and installed at “strategic locations”, including educational institutes and places of worship. Collected e-waste would then be taken to Ecoreco’s facility for “scientific recycling”, and is asking corporations to sponsor the bins “as part of [their] corporate social responsibility”.