Global statistics indicate that only about 20% of electronic waste disposed around the world is being recycled. This causes an unnecessary strain on the planet’s ecosystem, as precious metals and rare earths have to be mined on a consistent basis to meet the needs of the global populace. If the right processes and equipment are available, most of the materials in an electronic product or peripheral can be segregated and recovered for reuse.

The E Waste Management Rules 2016 were formulated to ensure that manufacturers, importers and retailers of electronic products also took responsibility for end-of-life collection and recycling of used electronic products. The ultimate objective of this Extended Producer Responsibility is to reduce the burden on the planet’s resources and instead find a way to upcycle used electronic products into fresh materials and components.

Opt for a specialized e waste recycling service that can take care of the process end to end. There are many aspects to responsible recycling, ranging from on-site data destruction, to pickup and transportation to the recycling facility, to meticulous segregation of recoverable, non-recoverable, hazardous and non-hazardous materials, to the specific recycling or disposal processes required for each of them. Organizations should also look for recycling services that can provide comprehensive documentation on the processes undertaken and materials recovered.