![This photograph taken on February 12 shows workers sorting discarded computer motherboards at Ecowork, an e-waste recycling facility in Ghaziabad, India. India is ramping up recovery of lithium and cobalt from e-waste to bolster strategic mineral supplies. [Arun Sankar/AFP]](/gc9/images/2026/02/27/54692-afp__20260218__97m37k6__v1__highres__indiaeconomytechnologyenvironmentminerals-370_237.webp)
By AFP |
KARNAL, India -- Hundreds of discarded batteries rattle along a conveyor belt into a crusher in a remote plant in northern India, fueling a multibillion-dollar industry that is bolstering the country's geopolitical ambitions.
India is cashing in on the growing "e-waste" sector, pulling critical minerals like lithium and cobalt, which are needed to make everything from smartphones to fighter jets and electric cars, from everyday electronics.
As global concern grows over China's dominance in critical minerals, New Delhi has accelerated efforts to recover materials vital to its ambitions of becoming an artificial intelligence hub.
With demand set to surge and domestic mining unlikely to yield significant output for at least a decade, India is turning to a long-overlooked source: its mounting piles of e-waste.
![This photograph taken on February 12 shows workers weighing dismantled electronic parts at Ecowork, an e-waste recycling facility in Ghaziabad, India. [Arun Sankar/AFP]](/gc9/images/2026/02/27/54693-afp__20260218__97m37jm__v1__highres__indiaeconomytechnologyenvironmentminerals-370_237.webp)
Dead batteries yield lithium, cobalt and nickel; light-emitting diode (LED) screens contain germanium; circuit boards hold platinum and palladium; hard disks store rare earths. E-waste has long been described as a "gold mine" for critical minerals.
India generated almost 1.5 million tons of e-waste last year, according to official data (enough to fill 200,000 garbage trucks), though analysts say the real figure is likely to be twice as much.
At Exigo Recycling's sprawling plant in Haryana state, a machine churns the batteries from e-scooters into a jet-black powder. The material is then leached into a wine-red liquid, filtered, evaporated and finally transformed into a fine white powder: lithium.
"White gold," said the facility's lead scientist, watching the final product collect in trays.
Backyard workshops
Industry estimates suggest "urban mining," the recovery of minerals from e-waste, could be worth up to $6 billion in India annually.
While insufficient to meet India's projected demand, analysts say it could help absorb import shocks and strengthen supply chains.
Most e-waste is dismantled in informal backyard workshops that extract easily salable metals such as copper and aluminum, leaving critical minerals untapped.
India's formal recycling capacity remains limited compared to China and the European Union, both of which have invested heavily in advanced recovery technologies and traceability systems.
India has a "100 percent import dependency" for key critical minerals including lithium, cobalt and nickel, according to the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis.
Seeking to close the gap, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government approved a $170 million program last year to boost formal recycling of critical minerals.
The program builds on Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) rules, which require manufacturers to channel e-waste to government-registered recyclers.
"EPR has acted as a primary catalyst in terms of bringing scale to the recycling industry," said Raman Singh, managing director at Exigo Recycling, one of the few Indian facilities able to extract lithium.
Other analysts say the rules have redirected more waste into the formal sector.
"Before EPR was fully implemented, 99% of e-waste was being recycled in the informal sector," said Nitin Gupta of Attero Recycling, which says it can recover at least 22 critical minerals.
"About 60% has now moved to formal."
Government data suggest an even higher shift, though critics question the accuracy of total e-waste tracking.
Rife with hazards
Organized recycling remains behind policy targets and below the pace of rising waste volumes, warns NITI Aayog, a government-backed think tank.
Informal recycling poses serious hazards. Open burning, acid baths and unprotected dismantling expose workers to toxic fumes and pollute soil and water.
In Seelampur, one of India's largest informal e-waste hubs, narrow alleys are packed with tangled cables and broken electronics.
"The new companies just keep enough for certification, but the rest still comes to us," said local trader Shabbir Khan. "Business has increased ... not gone down."
Even waste reaching formal recyclers often passes through informal hands first, said Sandip Chatterjee.
Integrating informal workers into traceable supply chains could significantly reduce losses of valuable critical minerals during sorting and dismantling, he added.
Ecowork, India's only authorized nonprofit e-waste recycler, is attempting that integration through training and safe workspaces.
"Our training covers dismantling and the (full) process for informal workers," said operations manager Devesh Tiwari.
"We tell them about the hazards, the valuable critical minerals, and how they can do it the right way so the material's value doesn't drop."
At its facility on the outskirts of Delhi, Rizwan Saifi expertly dismantled a discarded hard drive, slicing out a permanent magnet destined for an advanced recycler, which will shred it to recover dysprosium, a rare earth metal essential to modern electronics.
"Earlier all we would care about was copper and aluminum because that is what was high value in the scrap market," Saifi, 20, said.
"But now we know how valuable this magnet is."