E-waste in India at a glance: Current trends, regulations, challenges and management strategies

Electronic waste is a secondary source of valuable and precious metals. In recent trends, urban mining of these metals has received significant attention due to its profitable prospects, extended business opportunity, source of livelihood and ultimately achieving agenda for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2030. At the same time, the significant E-waste turns out to be an overwhelming challenge due to the presence of toxic chemical substances. The colossal E-waste generation has created multi-dimensional challenges over existing treatment options with its deleterious impacts on human health and environment. Most of the developed countries are having potential E-waste management technologies, technical knowhow and well-established system boundary. However, the case is not the same with the developing countries due to several challenges and lack of relevant strategies. Lack of data inventorization, illegal dumping, and non-availability of treatment options are the major challenges affecting the entire E-waste value chain in India. Hence, this paper deals with the strategic interventions conforming existing regulations which are crucial for a sustainable E-waste value chain, secured resources, societal well-being, reduced environmental impacts and overall sustainable development. Furthermore, relevant strategies i.e., eco-product design, circular resource management, extended producer responsibility, polluter pays' principle, life cycle assessment, 4R principle and bioleaching were identified and discussed as a future direction for Indian context. Formalizing the informal sector into a transparent recycling system is crucial which is highly recommended.