(MENAFN- Live Mint) India is likely sitting on a mine of urban waste if we consider a report that says Europe's electronic waste generated will lead to the extraction of 1 million tonnes of critical raw minerals (CRMs) if extracted annually.

The report in question was released today, which is also the International E-Waste Day, by the FutuRAM consortium , a European Union-funded institution.

The report provides comprehensive data on how electronic and electrical equipment (EEE) travel from sale to their end-of-life across the European Union, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Iceland, and Norway.

A look at the figures in numbers:

In 2022, Europe generated 10.7 million tonnes of e-waste, of which 54 per cent was managed as per compliances required. From this e-waste, around 400,000 tonnes of CRMs were recovered. These included copper, aluminium, silicon, tungsten, and palladium.

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The report also says that the total volume of EEE waste could rise in Europe to around 12.5-19 million tonnes annually by 2050.

Management of e-waste in Europe.

CRMs, at a similar pace, are expected to grow to 1.2 to 1.9 million tonnes annually.

“Europe's e-waste is not trash, it's a multi-billion-euro resource waiting to be unlocked,” Interesting Engineering quoted a Senior Scientific Specialist at UNITAR SCYCLE as saying, who further added,“Every kilogram we recover and any device we repair strengthens our economy, reduces our dependency, and creates new jobs.”

How can India benefit?

While Europe produces 10.7 million tonnes of e-waste currently, India produced 1.751 million tonnes of e-waste in 2023-24, as per data presented by Minister of State for Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs Tokhan Sahu in the Rajya Sabha on December 16, 2024.

This means India alone produced more than 16% of the e-waste of entire Europe.

India's e-waste vs Europe

India's e-waste, as per the data provided, has increased 72.54 per cent from 2019-20 to 2023-24.

India is thus sitting on a vast 'mine' of electric waste, which could provide its industries with significant quantities of critical raw materials.

How much e-waste does India process?

The government had introduced the E-Waste (Management) Rules, 2022, effective April 1, 2023, in order to streamline e-waste collection and recycling. This is done by holding producers/manufacturers of electronic or electrical goods responsible under the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR).

Based on the quantity of e-waste generated or the products sold, electronic and electrical equipment manufacturers are given annual recycling targets.

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Government data presented in the Rajya Sabha in August 2024 reveals that there has been a considerable increase in e-waste recycling in the country over the past five years, but a lot is still left to be done.

India's e-waste recycling has increased from 22 per cent in 2019-20 to 43 per cent in 2023-24.

However, the remaining 57 per cent e-waste that goes unprocessed is around 990,000 tonnes per year.

Thus, as per the numbers, India's e-waste may appear to be a burden on the government in the form of an environmental challenge, but if tapped into with the right systems in place, it could unlock a steady domestic supply of CRMs while also potentially creating green jobs.

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