India – Proposed regulations in India call for a refundable deposit on consumer electronics and a requirement on retailers to take back such goods at the end of their useful lives. The proposals are aimed at updating 2011 e-scrap handling and management rules.
However, it is unclear how much practical impact such rules would have in a country of 1.25 billion people where the vast majority of scrap electronic recycling occurs within the informal sector. Some estimates suggest up to 90% of domestically-generated e-scrap in certain areas of India ends up in the informal market for recycling and disposal.
There is a lack of awareness of the formal recycling system, with the result that many individuals and companies choose the informal processing option. ‘It clearly shows that the government has failed to take a note of existing informality in e-waste management,’ comments the Hasirudala (Green Force) group, a member-based organisation of waste-pickers that seeks to improve working conditions and ensure continued access to recyclable materials for the informal sector in the city of Bangalore.
Source: Resource Recycling
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