The traditional linear economic model of take, make, and dispose of is no longer sustainable. With rising urbanisation, rapid industrialisation and increasing global trade and commerce, the waste generation volumes have reached staggering proportions. We generate over 2 billion tons of municipal solid waste annually worldwide, and this is expected to increase 70% by 2050. India alone generates 62 million tons where the issues are exacerbated by the lack of reliable waste collection services, limited segregation of waste at source, and reliance on unmanaged landfills, creating large areas of toxic mountains that pollute the air, contaminate water, and endanger the public health and ecosystem. Thus, less than 20% of these wastes are ultimately treated.

The solution to this problem is well within our reach with assistance from key stakeholder groups representing public and private sectors, governments, regulators, investors, and urban local bodies to elevate this dialogue and spur circular pathways that emphasise reuse, recycling, and regeneration of waste streams. Waste should not be treated as a burden but as a resource. This approach relies on formalising the waste management infrastructure, building the scope and scale of recycling to reclaim virgin raw materials from plastic, batteries, and metals, and creating value-based products and solutions. Thus, new income streams are generated that promise inclusive job creation and business opportunities that uplift entire communities. 

This approach’s operationalisation has its own challenges, limiting its widespread adoption. Regulations that support and enforce proper waste collection, recycling, energy recovery, and disposal are vital. Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) regulations as enacted within India (already in force in multiple other countries on various waste streams) offer potential for boosting circularity, while reducing burden on urban local bodies. Through EPR, producers, manufacturers, and brand owners are responsible for end-to-end management of the waste generated through their products across states and partner with authorised waste handlers and civil societies to enforce their action plan. So far, the Nation is availing such mechanisms and promoting the recycling of wastes, including plastic, e-waste, battery waste, tires, and used oil, with the latest one being end-of-life vehicles.

While regulations in India are making the corporates liable to take necessary actions, it presents opportunities for securing resources for new-age businesses such as electric vehicles, renewable energy, and industry automation. As a nation, we currently import 99% of our Platinum group metals, 90% of our gold, 64% of our silver, and 30% of our copper. Amidst shortages in supply for these critical metals, recycling, and re-utilising resources is a business imperative in overcoming inflation-like situations arising from the ongoing uncertainties in trade tariffs. Adopting circular economy principles will become a business imperative and drive the need for recycling waste material like electronic waste (e-waste), printed circuit boards (PCB), spent Li-ion batteries, Autocatalytic converters, etc., to recover the critical metals. Mobile phones, for example, have precious metals such as gold, silver, and palladium; special metals such as cobalt, indium, and antimony; and metals such as copper and tin. About 10,000 mobile phones yield as much as 160 Kg of copper, 3 Kg of silver, 300 grams of gold (in a gold mine, one can get only 5 grams per tonne of rock), and 150 grams of palladium. Together, the metal value would be about INR 2.4 million. When we consider that an estimated 5 billion mobile phones are discarded globally every year, the immense potential of material recovery and financial benefit in recycling becomes evident. 

EPR regulations have been a key driver towards attracting investments in technology advancements mainly through the infusion of capital through India’s Swachh Bharat Mission where a huge fund has been allocated for advancing the waste management infrastructure in the rural and urban sectors respectively. Alternate Investment Funds for startups will be infused with fresh capital of INR 10,000 crores by the Government promoting innovation and growth in the waste management segment. It is projected that, by the year 2050, India’s circular economy is expected to have a market value of $2 trillion with the potential to create 10 million jobs. It is a large opportunity for startups and developers of new recycled products.