India's billion-dollar e-waste empire

Summary

In the dead of a cold December night in 2023, at a dump near Delhi, hundreds of men huddled around small bonfires, clutching paper cups of tea. They tossed plastic bags into the flames as they waited for a fleet of trucks to arrive. The trucks rolled in one by one, full of electronic marvels now reduced to e-waste: Nokia, Itel, and Samsung smartphones; Sony and LG LCD screens; Tata air conditioners; Canon and Epson printers. As the trailer gates opened at the back of one truck, Rashid Khan and Mohammad Iqrar, both in their early 30s, rushed inside. “Hand me a flashlight!” Khan shouted, frustrated as he tried to keep his balance atop a mound of appliances. Iqrar’s phone flashlight went on, illuminating the heaps of broken and used electronics. It took the two men 90 minutes to unload the container. On average, e-waste traders pay workers like Iqrar and Khan about 250 rupees ($3), the two men told me, to offload a single truck. India’s booming electronics sector has contributed to a quickly growing e-waste recycling industry worth $1.5 billion. India’s booming electronics sector has contributed to a quickly growing e-waste recycling industry worth $1.5 billion. Despite recent efforts to modernize the industry, 95% of those employed in e-waste recycling are informal workers who unload trucks, sift through scraps, and dismantle TVs and computers. Despite recent efforts to modernize the industry, 95% of those employed in e-waste recycling are informal workers who unload trucks, sift through scraps, and dismantle TVs and computers. For many of those workers, the pay is meagre and the industry can be dangerous, lawless, and toxic. For many of those workers, the pay is meagre and the industry can be dangerous, lawless, and toxic. As the recycling economy continues to grow and formalize, workers are left to the whims of regulators and other powerful players in the industry. As the recycling economy continues to grow and formalize, workers are left to the whims of regulators ...