Harmonization Of Data – The Backbone Of Circularity In India

“India is the third-largest contributor of electronic waste and produces 3.2 million tonnes of e-waste annually.”

How accurate do you think the numbers are? It is rather safe to conclude that the estimates are poorly calculated, owing to the lack of real data and harmonized data sets. Circular economy, although widely in practice across various sectors in the country, is mostly run by the informal waste management sectors. In a recent webinar hosted by Karo Sambhav, the country’s eminent PRO, the urgency to create a unified digital portal to harmonize all data was discussed and brooded over. Let’s see what the webinar highlighted:

Data is a significant aspect of circular economy in India. Think about it – the volumes of electronic junk piling in the landfills, the quantity of the waste efficiently recycled and treated, and the number of recovered materials, the numbers are nothing but data. Also, waste management centres are not one but multiple across the country. According to the reports shared, the government has authorized over 472 recyclers and dismantlers in India. Besides, the involvement of unauthorized and informal recyclers is high. Simply put, multiple data are generated, creating gaps in a robust waste management system.

As discussed in the forum, opaque data leads to several challenges in efficient waste management in India. Here’s a glimpse of the challenges discussed:

1. Inadequate data is crippling for the regulatory bodies. The government, the CPCB (Central Pollution Control Board), or the State Pollution Control Board fails to monitor the kind of work being accomplished by authorized recyclers and waste treatment centres.
2. Without the right data, it is impossible to calculate the total amount of e-waste generated in the country.
3. Non-inclusion of the informal sector implies a major miss in data.
4. The rate of recovery of valuable and recyclable materials from the waste piles is a serious miss.

As rightly highlighted by Mr Satish Sinha, the Associate Director of Toxics Link, circular economy primarily focuses on materials. Not having a unified portal that assimilates the data on material flow sets a challenge for the governing bodies. It is difficult to keep track of the waste generated or gauge the recovery of valuable materials from landfills.

Moreover, with the implementation of EPR, especially EPR e-waste, there are multiple players working in multiple locations. Monitoring the players stands out as a challenge. One of the other panelists at the webinar, also went on to speak about the problems of the non-inclusion of the informal sector and how it creates challenges in creating accurate data sets. If you aren’t aware already, not channelizing the material flows disrupts the creation of data and makes auditing the flow and management of waste a critical problem. He also highlighted that having centralized data is not the end of the problem. Having transparency is what matters. Think about it - the creation of data demands expert evaluation of the data to create strategic decisions and drive the prospects of a circular flow of economic activity. This implies an increasing dependency on the manual workforce. Besides, data is often lost in translation while analyzing and compiling the various fragments of data. Hence, reducing the opaqueness in the system is much needed to streamline and support a more targeted and robust environmental governance system.

Is harmonization the only big solution?

• What is the quantum of waste generation?
• How much of the waste is responsibly collected?
• The quantum of secondary materials in circulation.
• The ratio of waste being handed over to authorized recyclers.
• Are the reports available for the total quantity of waste being upcycled, refurbished, and reused in line with circular economy principles?

Do the environmental governing bodies have the insights to monitor and keep track of the progress in circular economy? Maybe not! Mr. Pranshu Singhal, a social entrepreneur and the founder of Karo Sambhav, reiterated the significance of addressing the blind spots in the system as a priority. It is not invisible that EPR has worked wonders in increasing accountability among the various stakeholders of waste management. However, a reliable data set is still a miss. Also, without harmonizing data in a single, standard portal, decoupling manpower and resources to interpret the data and implement the same to strengthen circularity is a far-fetched thought.

Moreover, the hurdle that now stands in the way is the lack of expertise or knowledge to assess and evaluate the data. Thus, PROs, the government, and environmentalists associated with the cause have a collective responsibility to figure out ways to harness the skills and education in all. Also, it is more important than ever to standardize the data in open public domains for everyone to access and have a clear vision of the deep data that drives circular economy.