{"id":83702,"date":"2026-09-02T18:10:39","date_gmt":"2026-09-02T12:40:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=83702"},"modified":"2026-09-02T18:11:12","modified_gmt":"2026-09-02T12:41:12","slug":"e-waste-urban-mine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/02-09-2026\/e-waste-urban-mine","title":{"rendered":"E-Waste: From Environmental Liability to Urban Mine"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS3\/Environment; Waste Management<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The idea of <strong>\u2018urban mining\u2019<\/strong> i.e. recovering metals from discarded products is gaining importance for India\u2019s resource security and circular economy.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>About <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/06-05-2026\/e-waste-management-india\"><strong>E-Waste<\/strong><\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>E-waste refers to discarded <strong>electrical and electronic equipment (EEE)<\/strong> and their components.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It contains valuable materials such as <strong>copper, aluminium, gold, silver and palladium<\/strong>, alongside hazardous substances such as lead, mercury and certain persistent chemicals.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Thus, e-waste presents a <strong>dual character:<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Urban mine:<\/strong> a concentrated secondary source of valuable and critical materials.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Hazardous waste:<\/strong> unsafe dismantling and processing can contaminate soil, air and water and expose workers to toxic substances.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Present Status: Global &amp; India<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Globally, e-waste generation is increasing faster than formal recycling capacity.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The <strong>Global E-waste Monitor 2024<\/strong> estimated <strong>62 million tonnes of e-waste in 2022<\/strong>, with only about <strong>22.3% formally collected and recycled<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>India ranks as the <strong>third-largest<\/strong> producer of electronic waste globally, following <strong>China and the United States.<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It generated<strong> 6.2 million tonnes of e-waste in FY24,<\/strong> projected to <strong>more than double to 14 million tonnes by 2030.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>According to the Global E-waste Monitor, <\/strong>E-waste generation in India has increased from<strong> <\/strong>about <strong>2.76 MMT in 2020 to <\/strong>about <strong>6.19 MMT in 2024 <\/strong>and is projected to reach 14 MMT by 2030.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Key Concerns &amp; Challenges<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Economic viability:<\/strong> Advanced recycling requires collection, segregation, sophisticated recovery technologies, safe data destruction and environmentally compliant processing.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Hence, recycling may appear costlier than simply selling obsolete equipment for maximum resale value.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Informal recycling:<\/strong> Informal dismantling and crude recovery methods can cause occupational and environmental hazards while reducing recovery efficiency.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Strategic resource loss:<\/strong> Failure to recover metals from discarded electronics increases dependence on imported minerals and exposes India to global supply-chain disruptions.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Data-security risks:<\/strong> Reuse or resale without secure data destruction can create significant cybersecurity and privacy vulnerabilities.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Weak life-cycle valuation:<\/strong> Lowest-price procurement often ignores environmental costs, resource security, domestic industrial capability and future liabilities i.e. the <strong>\u2018second balance sheet\u2019<\/strong> of every transaction.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Related Measures<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Global:<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Basel Convention<\/strong> regulates transboundary movement of hazardous wastes.<strong> India is a party to it.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR)<\/strong> makes producers responsible for the post-consumer management of products.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Several economies are shifting towards <strong>life-cycle costing, circular-economy principles and right-to-repair<\/strong> frameworks.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>India:<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>E-Waste (Management) Rules, 2022<\/strong> strengthened EPR through producer obligations and a formal system of EPR certificates.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The <strong>CPCB<\/strong> regulates and monitors e-waste management and authorised recyclers.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>India\u2019s <strong>National Critical Mineral Mission<\/strong> seeks to strengthen exploration, processing, recycling and recovery of critical minerals.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>\u2018Manak Manthan\u2019 on \u2018E-Waste Management \u2014 Guidelines\u2019:<\/strong> By Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) focusing on creating awareness and facilitating stakeholder interaction.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Government initiatives promoting a <strong>circular economy and resource efficiency<\/strong> can integrate urban mining into industrial policy.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Way Forward<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Shift from <strong>lowest-price procurement to life-cycle\/value-based procurement<\/strong>, incorporating environmental and strategic benefits.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Strengthen <strong>EPR enforcement<\/strong>, with outcomes based on actual recovery rather than merely inexpensive compliance certificates.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Build integrated collection, segregation and recycling infrastructure and formally integrate informal workers.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Promote <strong>design for repair, reuse and recyclability<\/strong>, supported by right-to-repair mechanisms.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Develop domestic technologies for recovering <strong>critical minerals and precious metals<\/strong> from e-waste.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Mandate robust <strong>data sanitisation and traceability<\/strong> for discarded IT assets.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Use public procurement to create assured demand for <strong>secondary raw materials<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/opinion\/op-ed\/the-two-balance-sheets-behind-every-e-waste-decision\/article71416562.ece\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Source: TH<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><strong><br \/>\nContext<\/p>\n<p><\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">\nThe idea of \u2018urban mining\u2019 i.e. recovering metals from discarded products is gaining importance for India\u2019s resource security and circular economy.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong><\/p>\n<p>About E-Waste<\/p>\n<p><\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"\t>\n<p>E-waste refers to discarded electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) and their components.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">\n<p>It contains valuable materials such as copper, aluminium, gold, silver and palladium, alongside hazardous substances such as lead, mercury and certain persistent chemicals.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<p><a href=\" https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/02-09-2026\/e-waste-urban-mine \" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-83702","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83702","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=83702"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83702\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":83704,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83702\/revisions\/83704"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=83702"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=83702"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=83702"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}