Hulladek – Recycling its way to success

Kolkata: HULLADEK Recycling Pvt Ltd, eastern India's fastest growing e-waste management company, has lined up an ambitious plan of having its collection points across all States of India and eventually to recycle 50,000 tonne of e-waste by 2025. The company, at present, has a collection network of e-waste at 23 cities in 13 states across the country.

At present, 6-year-old Hulladek Recycling already manages the e-waste of corporates like Tata Steel, Pepsico, Nestle India, IndusInd Bank, Mondelez International etc. India is the third largest e-waste producer globally and with over 80 per cent of the e-waste in India being managed by the informal sector, the scope of the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) and Producer Responsibility Organisations (PRO) is bound to increase in the coming days.

"Hulladek provides proper collection and recycling of electronic waste. We provide door-to-door services for e-waste collection. The waste collected is transported to our partners across the country for safe disposal. All relevant documents and certificates are shared with clients once the waste is recycled. According to the industry estimate, the percentage of e-waste being recycled will be increasing from 5 per cent to 10-15 per cent and hence we aim to grab this opportunity and take up a greater share of the market by increasing our presence pan India," said Nandan Mall, Chairman and Managing Director, Hulladek Recycling Pvt Ltd.

Significantly, electronic products are made of metal, plastic, glass and a small percentage of hazardous chemicals. The generation of electronic waste has been growing consecutively since the past decade. In 2020, India generated 3.2 million tonnes of e-waste. On an average, e-waste can be valued at approximately Rs 50 per kg which implies that the overall e-waste industry in India is worth Rs 1,600 crore. People are not aware about the proper method of e-waste disposal and recycling. The lack of initiative or the willingness to let go of the monetary compensation provided by the scrap dealers adds to improper e-waste management.

The unorganised sector of the waste management industry consists of scrap dealers and unauthorized recyclers. The scrap dealers resort to acid bath or chemical leeching for metal extraction. This method only recovers 20 per cent-25 per cent of the precious metals. They also dismantle the electronic item, retrieving metals that have a resale value, the remaining is thrown into landfills or water bodies that has a telling effect on the environment. To address the issue E waste Management and Handling rules were introduced in 2011that was updated in 2016 by the Central Pollution Control Board that oversees the formal e-waste management in India.