E-Waste Advisory Project KGGTF Funds

Basic Information

Grant ID: K-45

Region: South Asia

Country: India

Approval Year: 2014

Grant Year: Year 2

Amount Approved by Donor: $840000.00

Main Product Line: IFC - Advisory

Sector: Urban

Grant start/completion: January 22, 2015 – June 30, 2019

Grant Status: Closed

TTLs: Subrata BarmanSarina Bolla

Grant Activities

Project Summary:

As its economy grows, India faces burgeoning volumes of waste from electronics (e-waste). When harnessed, “e-waste” can be a resource, creating jobs and raising incomes for informal and formal sector workers, while preventing
toxic materials from harming citizens and the environment. Operationalizing the concept of green growth, KGGTF’s three-year USD $840,000 E-waste advisory program is creating the first-of-its kind E-waste take-back program in India.  Through successful pilot operations in three cities, the program team has established a sustainable business model that India and other countries can replicate in cities facing similar challenges. To scale up this successful model by collaborating with leading producers of electronic items and recyclers of e-waste, the team is developing a sustainable Industry-led solution to the e-waste challenges in India by establishing a Producer Responsibility Organization which will serve as a cost-effective, long term and countrywide solution to the e-waste challenges in India. 

List of Activities:

  • Capacity Building: Development of the e-waste collection capacity in cities through training and formalization of Last Mile Collectors to integrate them into the formal supply chain. This would support sustainable livelihoods for the collectors and curb the flow of e-waste to the informal sector thus working to address the immediate challenge of the dominant informal sector.
  • Awareness Generation: Strategic and targeted awareness to (a) increase household sensitization to e-waste and, thereby, increase collection from households (b) increase e-waste channelization from bulk consumers, refurbishers and retailers; and (c) attract e-waste collectors to integrate into the formal supply chain.
  • E-Waste Tracking: Support to develop waste tracking technology that ensures transparency and curtails leakage to the informal sector. The technology, in the form of a phone app will record all transactions and collection details from the point at which the e-waste is collected (e.g.: a household or retailer) till the final delivery to the recycler. This will mitigate the risk of leakage and provide transparent reporting to producers and government.

Outcomes:

Output 1: Awareness and Outreach

  • Cities of Ahmedabad and Hyderabad divided into various zones (18 for Hyderabad and 11 for Ahmedabad)
  • Developed list of schools, colleges and residential colonies that would be targeted by each zone
  • First set of creative materials produced and deployed
  • Over 220,000 people reached through various awareness campaigns

Output 2: Setting up E-Waste Takeback System and Formalisation of informal sector

  • Completed selection process for Franchisees and Last Mile Collectors
  • Signed 12 Franchisee Agreements (7 in Hyderabad and 5 in Ahmedabad)
  • Developed a network of 300 Last Mile Collectors (LMCs)
  • Developed first set of Training materials for LMCs and tested it with 50 LMCs
  • Developed protocols for E-Waste Takeback system including traceability for E-Waste up to franchisee level

Output 3: Toolkit Development

  • Baseline study initiated with a sample size of 1200 (Pre/Post for awareness and Quasi-experimental for E-Waste Takeback System / Formalisation of informal players)
  • Baseline findings completed for Hyderabad and expected to complete by March 2014 for Ahmedabad
  • Lessons captured for all previous projects undertaken by IFC in waste sector (Vietnam, Pakistan, Mexico, Turkey, Serbia, Macedonia, Bosnia, Herzegovina and Albania)

Outcomes:

The outcomes of this project intend to achieve five main contributions: (i) enabling sustainable households, (ii) awareness and engagement, (iii) environmental preservation, (iv) sector growth, and (v) urban waste management infrastructure. Overall, it intends to facilitate the formation and establishment of a Producer Responsibility Organization (PRO) in India, which will serve as a long-term and cost-effective solution to the industry’s challenge of collecting e-waste in an economical and responsible manner.

Collaboration with K-Partners and Others:

  • GIZ (German Development Agency)