circular economy
circular economy and sustainability
circular economy principles
EPR and Circular Economy

Countries across the globe are transitioning towards a circular economy. And why not? It is the only promising solution to the looming environmental and sustainability crisis. Although a buzzword, the awareness around circular economy is not entirely clear. This explains why the strategic policy fails to work wonders in the field of waste management.

It is no surprise that a major chunk of the waste created is managed and processed by the informal sector. Speaking of India, the country alone generates over 3.5 million tonnes of electronic waste every year. What’s more, less than 5% of the waste created is appropriately disposed of or recycled by the formal and authorized sectors. This scenario clearly reveals the lack of facilities and infrastructure in the sector. Moreover, very little awareness of circular economy and sustainability adds to the problems.

So, what is required to enable more robust and actionable circular economy principles? Expansive stakeholder collaboration.

While all this might sound slightly difficult to understand, let’s first explain how circular economy principles intend to work.

Circular economy – A step towards strategic waste management

The principles of circular economy are quite simple. It includes:

·  Rethinking product designs to minimise waste and resource input

·  Eliminating waste and pollution

·  Keeping products and materials in circulation for maximum value

·  Regeneration of nature. 

 To begin with, shifting from a linear take-make-waste economy to circular economy shifts the focus from the extraction of raw resources to regeneration. Wondering how? Think about it – the growing demand for electronic items coerces manufacturers to mine natural resources.

Moreover, consumers, too, have little to no idea about ways to handle or dispose of electronics that reach the end of life. Results? The components of an electronic item lose value over time, ends up as trash plaguing the landfills, and lower the finite natural resources. Did you know that waste is a human invention? Hence, circular economy promises sustainability by introducing a regenerative model wherein every product or resource is of some value and never a waste. This naturally improves environmental conditions and drives economic profits.

Who are the stakeholders?

The role of stakeholders in achieving circular economy sustainability is big. Surely, understanding who these stakeholders are matters big. In simple words, stakeholders refer to the organizations, industries, ministries, manufacturers, producers, environmentalists, and PROs (Producer Responsibility Organizations).

Why is capacity building of stakeholders crucial?

It is no surprise that stakeholders play a critical role in the value chain. Besides, stakeholders are responsible for implementing a circular framework in order to minimise and manage e-waste. In fact, EPR policies are introduced to increase the adoption of circular economy. Wondering what EPR policies are all about? EPR stands for Extended Producer Responsibility, or a set of a directive that lawfully obligates manufacturers, producers, and entrepreneurs to tackle the lifecycle of a product from its inception to its disposal.

Simply put, EPR is a powerful instrument to implement a robust circular framework across the value chain. However, EPR can only work if all the stakeholders across the value chain act in accordance. Unfortunately, the challenges in embracing EPR are not underrated. Are you curious to learn about the challenges? Let’s quickly read:

1. Technology gaps

Do you think that an increase in the number of recyclers is enough to ensure circular economy sustainability? Certainly not! Sadly, the efficiency of the recycling system is questionable. Believe it or not, technology is a big miss when processing or treating end-of-life electronic products. Recyclers or processing units are hardly efficient in scaling down the demand and supply of critical raw materials. This defies the purpose and principles of circular economy.

2. Shortage of awareness

Although EPR and circular economy are much spoken about, very few are aware of what EPR compliance truly stands for. For manufacturers or entrepreneurs, the urge to abide by the EPR norms is only directed by the fear of the law. However, producers are mostly clueless about ways how to collect, treat, and refurbish electronic waste to stay compliant with the EPR regulations. In short, the lack of awareness is a serious challenge, not just among commoners but stakeholders too.

3. Financial issues

A major setback in the adoption of circularity is the expense of financial transactions. If you are not already aware, the costs of acquiring and recycling electronic products are way higher than the value of materials recovered by the formal recycling units. Since the manual dismantling of spent electronics and the overall business model appears less lucrative, formal or authorized recyclers take little or no interest in the process. Also, this explains the spike in the informal recycling units.

The challenges do not end here. The absence of inventories makes it a lot more difficult to trace the materials salvaged or the transaction between recyclers or processors. Besides, isn’t it crucial to figure out a state’s capacity to set up digital tools to ensure circular economy and sustainability?

The solution:

Wondering if there’s a prospective way to address the above-mentioned challenges? Of course, there is! The top PROs in the country, like Karo Sambhav and environmentalists, in association with the government, intend to address the roadblocks by educating stakeholders about circular economy, recycling, and EPR via awareness sessions and engagement drives. Besides, speaking of capacity development, it is the institutional capacity that ranks as a priority. For example, many people are still unsure of the e-waste stacked in the bins. Also, how to perform on an existing regulation? In short, offering clarity on the rules and ways to treat and manage e-waste among the stakeholders in a value chain is a promising solution.

Moreover, imposing upgraded technology and stronger enforcement measures are absolutely critical to build capacities at a grass-root level and enable circular economy.

Karo Sambhav collaborates with leading organisations to jointly develop industry frameworks, standards, governance mechanisms, systems and processes that advance the transition to circular economy. know more about our alliances.

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