Moradabad, in Uttar Pradesh, on the banks of the Ramganga river, has become one of the biggest informal e-waste recycling hubs in India.
India’s Brass City has been affected by the global recession and consequent decrease in demand for brass products. Manufacturers and handicraft workers have thus shifted towards the informal, unauthorised e-waste sector.
Handicraft workers are now experienced at extracting metals from electronic products—computer monitors, CPUs, remote controls, radio transmitters, old mobile phones and keyboards.
E-waste recycling has become a home business in the city, with most members in a family involved in processes right from dismantling to metal recovery.
Dismantling and recycling activities in Moradabad are carried out mostly in basements or rooftops of houses of people engaged in this business.
The work of extracting metals from e-waste, however, is highly hazardous. Dismantled gadgets and motherboards are hammered to extract copper, silver and gold from the circuits. Workers burn motherboards that contain heavy metals in open piles which release deadly toxic fumes. Circuit boards are cooked over open flames or in shallow pans, exposing workers to lead fumes in order to extract copper. Gold is extracted from circuit board chips by acid baths, spewing even more toxic gases into the air.