Rethinking About Waste You Dumped Could Make You Part Of A $20 Billion Industry

A circular economy is one that is restorative and regenerative by design compared to the traditional ‘linear consumption’ system which leads to waste generation and erosion of resources.

New Delhi: The recycling of electric waste (e-waste), plastic, and batteries can collectively have a market size worth $20 billion by 2030, said a report by investment banking firm Avendus Capital said as stated by Moneycontrol.

The report, which highlights that these three segments of recycling will drive India’s circular economy agenda, is to be unveiled on World Environment Day on June 5.

“We believe that the recycling sector is at an inflection point owing to the rising focus on sustainability and the regulatory push,” said Koushik Bhattacharyya, Managing Director and Head of Industrials Investment Banking, Avendus Capital, the report added.

What Is A Circular Economy?

A circular economy is one that is restorative and regenerative by design compared to the traditional ‘linear consumption’ system which leads to waste generation and erosion of resources. The Avendus report focuses on three segments of the recycling industry while enlisting the benefits of a circular economy for investors and consumers.

In a perfectly circular economy, nothing goes to waste. All resources and goods are reused and circulated back into the system. However, ‘use and throw’ is the thread that dominates the market currently. It’s a ‘linear consumption model’ in which fresh resources are exploited during the production of goods.

The Avendus report details the pros and cons of adopting a circular economy in India with models and analyses. It advises the commercial market to loop in India’s recycling capabilities for corporate growth, legislative support, and consumer sustainability.

No material has a definite expiry date. Circular economy draws attention to eradicating the ‘end-of-life’ of any material and redesigning the consumption and manufacturing systems to create a regenerative ecosystem.

The plastic recycling in India is currently done mostly by the informal sector. However, less than 10 percent of plastic gets recycled in India, as per the report. By 20230, the report said this can see a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 24 per cent amounting to a whopping $10.2-billion industry.

This increase will be due to “the rising use of recyclable plastics, exponential demand in e-commerce and quick commerce packaging, and use in the light-weighting of products,” said Ashish Ahuja, Vice President of Industrials Investment Banking, Avendus Capital.

It also mentions that the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) policy of the Indian government, along with emerging clean-packaging business models, can ease the collection and segregation process. The use of advanced technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), for recycling and repurposing plastic waste is also gaining popularity.

Don’t Dump Electronic Waste

It is said that the shelf-life of electronic devices like mobile phones, computers, tablets et cetera has reduced by 20-40 per cent in the last decade. The reports points out that even though more e-waste is being generated, only 18 per cent is repurposed globally.

While the extraction itself is energy-efficient, the process is harmful and tedious. The report says that with proper infrastructure and permissions an urban mining venture could be kickstarted.

In the next 17, 21 and 33 years, precious metals such as gold, silver, and copper are expected to be exhausted. Reusing metals from junk piles will be the next big thing producers will look forward to, as per the report. This would lead to an increase in urban mining demand. The report predicts that e-waste recycling is most likely to grow at a 23 per cent CAGR to touch $7.5 billion by FY30.

Battery Recycling

The electric vehicle (EV) industry is dominated by batteries. The Li-on batteries that are popular in the industry with high energy density, is also gaining traction for energy storage.

As economies try to reduce their dependency on fossil fuels in order to achieve their environmental targets, the demand for batteries is only increasing. However, as per the report, social justice issues prevail among miners and workers in the battery-manufacturing industry.

It says that the cobalt miners from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which supplies more than 70 per cent of global demand, lack basic human rights. This also causes disruptions in the supply chain. Also, the fact that metals like nickel, lithium, and cobalt are available in scarce quantities, and their extraction process involves complexity, recycling batteries is one of the most efficient methods to source these metals.