Digital Residue

A monitor crusher at a formal recycling unit inside the Noida special economic zone (SEZ) in Uttar Pradesh.  Imports often find their way into formal units; for a waste trader in the US or Europe it costs $20 to process an old computer while it can sell the same piece to traders in a country like India and earn $10 instead! Old computers are also exported to India as charitable donations and as illegal shipments; according to official estimates India imports more than 15,000 tonnes of e waste every year, illegally. Photographs by - Sayantan Bera/Down To Earth

Digital Residue

With the government regulations set to target informal units for their risky and polluting ways, thousands await an uncertain future. Informal scrap dealers unit, Shastri Park, Delhi. Photographs by - Sayantan Bera/Down To Earth

Digital Residue

Circuit boards are dipped in acid and burnt to segregate plastic from precious metals in Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh. Hydrochloric and sulphuric acid is commonly used. The fumes contain chlorine and sulpher di-oxide which cause respiratory problems. The acids are corrosive to the eyes and skin. Photographs by - Sayantan Bera/Down To Earth

Digital Residue

According to traders in electronic scrap it is most profitable to recycle circuit boards. Computer motherboards sell for Rs 230 a kg from which copper and gold are extracted. The extraction is hazardous and is done in small towns like Moradabad, barely 150 kilometers from Delhi. In the photograph, circuit boards are washed in the Ramganga river in Moradabad after extraction of copper and gold. After the final wash in this tributary of the holy Ganges the boards will be sold to plastic recyclers for Rs 2 per kg. Photographs by - Sayantan Bera/Down To Earth

Digital Residue

A monitor cover serves as the wicket for cricket playing kids in Seelampur, Delhi. Photographs by - Sayantan Bera/Down To Earth

Digital Residue

If the electric and computer wires are in good condition a knife is used to extract copper. Otherwise, they are burnt; burning PVC in the plastic releases hazardous dioxins. New Seelampur, Delhi. Photographs by - Sayantan Bera/Down To Earth

Digital Residue

In the by-lanes of New Seelampur, Delhi, extracting copper and PVC from discarded wires is a household industry. Photographs by - Sayantan Bera/Down To Earth

Digital Residue

15-year-old Shanu extracts copper from dismantled UPS fans in Shastri Park, Delhi. The copper sells for Rs 330 per kg fetching his employer handsome returns on a good day when as much as 10 kilograms can be extracted. Shanu, however never earns beyond Rs 200 a day. Photographs by - Sayantan Bera/Down To Earth

Digital Residue

Laborers working in Seelampur, Delhi, dismantle computer scrap to segregate metals, circuit boards and plastic. The segregated parts are then sent to different places either to be reused or recycled. Photographs by - Sayantan Bera/Down To Earth

Digital Residue

Seelampur in the north eastern fringe of Delhi receives electronic waste from across north India. More than 400,000 tonnes of e-waste is generated in India every year of which 90 percent ends up in the unorganized market.   Photographs by - Sayantan Bera/Down To Earth