Clean e-India: A New Hope

 

An estimated 40 mn tons of e-waste is produced every year; growing at the rate of 40% every year

The estimated market value of e-waste management was $11.8 bn last year and is expected to grow to $44.3 bn by 2020 globally. e-Waste is one of the fastest growing waste products in the world and currently accounts for 2-5% of total solid waste; however, it accounts for 70% of toxic waste. An estimated 40 mn tons of e-waste is produced every year; growing at the rate of 40% every year.

United Nations report projects that by 2020, e-waste from computers would dramatically increase by 400% from 2007 levels in China and by 500% in India. In fact, e-waste from discarded mobile phones would be 18 times higher by 2020 in India from 2007 levels.

Given the fact that 95% of the e-waste is handled by the informal sector in India, one of the key challenges in the implementation of the e-waste rules will be the inclusion of informal players in the formal supply chain, as it will impact their livelihoods. Inclusive business model will be an integral part of any solution.

Many steps have been taken in this direction; it is encouraging to see the Indian government's introduction of an e-Waste regulation (requiring producers and consumers to dispose these products to certified recyclers). Continuing the momentum, in yet another new initiative International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Attero in a joint partnership have rolled out a first of its kind Clean e-India program in four major cities of India. This program also involved manufactures, distributors, informal sectors and consumers, who could help in creating awareness for the growing menace of e-waste. Under this program Attero will rope in informal waste collectors and collect and recycle e-wastes through an inclusive approach.

IFC's Partnership with Attero - Clean e-India Initiative

The project will set up collection centers and raise public awareness about proper disposal of electronic and electrical assets. This integrated program will be launched in four cities - Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, and Hyderabad. More than 15 leading producers including Wipro, Samsung, Voltas, Acer, Videocon, and Haier are supporting this initiative.

This project aligns with IFC's strategy of inclusion and climate change. IFC had earlier made an investment of $5 mn to help Attero develop and provide a complete range of recycling of electronic and electrical assets.
Emphasizing on this new initiative, Nena Stoiljkovic, VP, IFC Advisory Services informs, "To be rolled out across four cities in India over 3 years in the first phase, we believe this model has significant potential for replication. The model will leverage the strengths of stakeholders across public and private sectors, civil society and will help integrate informal sector players to ensure higher collection and recycling of e-Waste at minimum costs. Apart from generating awareness and integrating informal workers, IFC and Attero will set up collection centers and develop an online tracking and monitoring system for e-waste flows."

As part of the Clean e-India initiative, franchisees will partner in this project and work with informal last mile collectors who will also get trained in efficient e-waste collection and disposal.

Support from IFC

IFC has been committed to sustainability and recognizes the hazards associated with inappropriate handling of eWaste. To address the challenges and help evolve solutions to the problem, IFC has undertaken studies in the area of e-waste and general waste management.
According to Thomas S Davenport, director, south Asia, IFC, "For IFC, India is the country with our largest exposure of over $4 bn. In FY12, IFC committed over 40 projects in India for total financing of $884 mn, of which $712 mn was for our own account and $172 mn was mobilized."

Govt hold manufactures responsible

Speaking at the launch, Kapil Sibal, minister of communications and IT emphasized that the western world should not look at India as just access to the market but they should also be responsible for the environment. "When we see an e-waste generation in the EU alone generates 7mn tones, US generate 4mn, China is at 2.5 mn tones and India generates 0.8 mn tones annually at the moment. India generates 1 kg per capita, which is 14 times lesser then US and Europe. By the time India's market become robust, it will be good to see that we have started the debate early to find an end-to-end solution."

He also thrust upon on developing roadmap for the country to bring investments and technology transfer. Private players have an obligation of managing e-Waste and set up collection centers through public private partnerships.

Informal sector to particiapate

Nitin Gupta, CEO, Attero recycling informs, "As a part of this initiative, Attero will be training the informal sector (Kabadiwallahs) and will use the existing rag-pickers to collect the e-waste in an eco-friendly manner from the customers. We have already set up nation-wide collection centers across 22 cities. We have a strong reverse logistics network and also have the facility of extracting metals from the electronic products in an efficient way. Apart from collecting the e-waste from households, we also collect e-waste from more than 300 corporates across India.