‘Equal Apple‘ means an Equal Partnership with all Stakeholders to help in managing the growing E-Waste and Plastic Waste in India and across the World. We are a One-Stop Solution for End-to-End E-waste & Plastic Waste management.
We are amongst the country’s prominent Producer Responsibility Organisation (PRO) and are working towards bringing accountability, transparency, and trust in the system.
Working nationwide with producers and brands alike to implement their Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) and helping close their material loop, we assist our clients in making detailed EPR plans and staying compliant throughout, from running awareness campaigns to setting up collection channels, collecting waste and sending it for responsible recycling. We always make sure that our producers get the most comprehensive and accountable EPR service in India.
We thrive for eco friendly recycling and reuse of electronic and plastic waste. Equal Apple joins millions of hands across the nation working in line with the E- waste rules 2016 along with The Swachh Bharat initiative to envision and make India a cleaner and greener nation. At the heart of Equal Apple’s approach is our relentless conviction to create inclusive, sustainable, scalable, and transparent systems for e-waste handling in India, that creates equitable opportunity and fair value for every stakeholder in the value chain.
Equal Apple has a carefully designed facility
to function at a level of sophistication that is much needed to process
electronic and plastic waste. We at Equal Apple have reverse logistics
spanning the country for compliant movement of E- waste as well as
plastic waste, from source to the facility.
As a part of our dynamic management practices, we also offer the full spectrum of compliance management, and have also been actively involved with campaigns and programmes to initiate a process of holistic management of electronic and plastic waste.
Our innovative and data backed tech platform, along with our country wide grassroot driven ecosystem connects all the stakeholders into an integrated formalised e-waste management chain and is enabling waste management into an environmentally conscious and sustainable industry.
Our network spans 29 states and 3 union territories in India.
E-Waste in india
India is transitioning from a linear to a circular economy, and it prerequisites an immediate need to remove existing bottlenecks and evolve the domestic waste management system.
We are now officially the world’s third-biggest e-waste generator, producing over 3.23 million metric tonnes of e-waste per year, behind the US and China. The country’s e-waste generation has risen nearly 43 percent between FY18 and FY20, and the pandemic induced increase in the use of electronic devices is set to amplify the problem soon.
According to CPCB, India collected just 10 percent of the e-waste estimated to have been generated in 2018-19 and 3.5 percent of that generated in 2017-2018. The report published on December 18, 2020, states that the target of e-waste to be collected in 2017-18 and 2018-19 was 35,442 MT and 154,242 MT, respectively. And, against the same, 25,325 MT and 78,281 MT was collected respectively.
A study by KPMG and ASSOCHAM says computer equipment accounts for almost 70 percent of e-waste in India, followed by telecom/phones (12 percent), electrical equipment (8 percent) and medical equipment (7 percent).
Though there are regulations mandating manufacturers of electronic devices to take part in disposing e-waste, what India needs is a multi-pronged approach to streamline e-waste management, beginning with encouraging formal e-waste handlers to driving down procurement costs, curbing illegal imports, creating awareness, and improving inventory management.
India has the distinction of being the only country in South-Asia to have a specific legal framework for handling e-waste since 2011. However, the stakeholders in the system are grappling with basic problems, i.e., high cost of handling and procurement, low margins, underutilization of capacities and continuing dependency (～95 percent) on the informal sector to handle e-waste. The country ranks among the bottom 10 out of 180 countries on the Environmental Performance Index 2018 as per the World Economic Forum 2018.
The only way to improve the situation around e-waste and related issues is, increasing consumer awareness – unless the end user is not aware of the proper management and disposal of e-waste, the laws and policies will fail to make an impact.
3.23
Million metric tonnes of e-waste per year
25,325
Metric tons e-waste to be collected in 2017-18
78,281
Metric tons e-waste to be collected in 2018-19
FY 18 - 20
e-waste generation has risen 43 percent nearly
Plastic Waste in India
Plastic waste is India’s and the world’s most formidable environmental challenge today, escalated further by the COVID-19 pandemic.
A global material balance study on plastics points out that 79 percent of the total plastics produced in the world enters our environment as waste, and only 9 percent of the total plastic waste in the world is recycled.
According to a CPCB report (2019-2020), which collates data from 60 major cities in India, the country generates around 26,000 tonnes of plastic waste a day, out of which 60 percent is recycled. The remaining 40 percent, converts to waste, which is either landfilled or ends up polluting streams or groundwater resources. The total annual plastic waste generation in India is a humungous 3.3 million metric tonnes per year, with the richer states like Goa and Delhi producing as much as 60 grams and 37 grams per capital per day, respectively as opposed to the national average of 8 grams per capita per day. 80 percent of dry waste generated daily is plastic, and if this can be managed well, then India also can be as beautiful as any of the other developed countries.
The CSE (Centre for Science and Environment) in one of its papers has suggested some broad initiatives including but not limited to
Phase out or ban products that cannot be recycled (such as multi-layered plastics)
Ban carry bags
Define single use plastics clearly, and ban items made from it
Make the rules and guidelines for Extended Producer Responsibility simple and enforceable
Incentivize the business of recycling
Segregate at source
If India aspires to manage its plastic waste to a desired level, then we need to educate people, create awareness that plastic is not waste, it’s valuable, and the segregation needs to start at the source. Plastic waste needs to be cleaned and disposed of separately from other solid waste.
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