Page 47 - Plastics News July 2025
P. 47
ENVIRONMENT NEWS
lated collection of batteries in India remains a tal awareness are driving demand for efficient
key concern. While lead-acid batteries used in collection and recycling infrastructure, making
vehicles and inverters are relatively traceable, safe e-waste management a national priority.
dry cells, button cells, and lithium-ion batteries
often end up in informal scrap channels or are Ms. Preeti Tiwari, Head of Business Development
improperly discarded. Weak enforcement of EPR, Landbell GreenForest Solutions, drew at-
battery waste regulations and poor compliance tention to the 2022 Battery Waste Management
by smaller manufacturers further contribute to Rules and emphasised that while the EPR frame-
large-scale environmental leakage.” work is a significant move, its success depends
on a well-defined reverse supply chain, ongoing
“The diversion of used lead batteries to the monitoring, and active responsibility from manu-
informal sector continues largely due to un- facturers.
checked practices by dealers. While the Battery
(Management & Handling) Rules, 2001 define re- Mr. Gautam Mehra, Chief of Innovation and
sponsibilities for various stakeholders, they fall R&D, OpenGate Global Enterprises, said “Bat-
short in clearly outlining obligations for dealers— tery and e-waste recycling involves hazardous
giving them a virtual free hand. ILZDA has raised components, complex dismantling, and often
this regulatory gap with the CPCB, but action on lacks sufficient infrastructure. The importance
the matter is still awaited.” he further added. of transparency, proper collection systems, and
traceability, without which responsible recycling
Mr. Satish Sinha, Associate Director, Toxics Link, becomes extremely difficult to enforce.”
echoed the concern, stating that “Despite the
presence of well-framed rules, the absence of Mr. Akshit Jain, Founder of Recyclify said “The
stringent enforcement, effective penalties, and most informal recyclers, despite handling a sig-
coordinated monitoring continues to enable nificant volume of waste, do not disclose or
non-compliant practices.” The panelists high- document their processes, leaving major gaps in
lighted the issue of government auctions often national-level data.”
being accessed by intermediaries or informal Mr. Mitradev Sahoo, Program Associate – Elec-
players, defeating the objective of responsible tric Mobility, Sustainable Cities and Transport
recycling.
at WRI India, and Mr. Ashok Kumar Thanikon-
India’s e-waste management market, valued at da, Senior Program Officer at the Global Green
USD 2.96 billion in 2024, is projected to reach Growth Institute, shared insights on best practic-
USD 8.92 billion by 2033, growing at a robust es from other countries in e-waste management
CAGR of 12.07% from 2025 to 2033. As the and showcased how data plays a crucial role in
third-largest producer of e-waste globally—ac- driving effective solutions.
counting for nearly 10% of the world’s total out- Ms. Pallas Chandel, Climate Change Advisor at
put—India faces a pressing need for sustainable GIZ, brought a unique perspective by mention-
e-waste disposal. Rapid urbanization, rising elec- ing “The rural and peri-urban regions, despite
tronic consumption, and increased environmen-
their increasing usage of electronic devices, are
July 2025 PLASTICS NEWS 47
