Informal EWaste Recycling in Delhi

E-waste is one of the fastest growing waste streams globally and India generates more than 2 million tonnes of this toxic waste annually.  In India, informal e-waste recycling continues to operate even after seven years of E-waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2011 and two years of E-waste (Management) Rules, 2016.

‘ Informal E-waste Recycling in Delhi: Unfolding Impact of two years of E-Waste (Management) Rules 2016’, a study by Toxics Link, finds crude processing of e-waste in 15 informal hotspots of Delhi, functioning without any health or environmental safeguards. The study reveals that the informal operations continue to poison human health and the environment through its improper processing operations in the e-waste capital of India.

In the 15 hotspots of Delhi, New & Old Seelampur (Shahdara), Mustafabad (North East Delhi), Behta Hazipur and Loni (Ghaziabad) are the biggest such informal hotspots followed by Turkman Gate, Daryaganj, Shastri Park, Mayapuri, Saeed Nagar, Zafrabad, Mata Sundari Road, Mandoli, Brijpuri and Seemapuri.