E-Waste and the Circular Economy
Seelampur and Informal Recycling
How Delhi's Seelampur and similar markets became hubs of informal e-waste dismantling, employing thousands, and why they dominate India's e-waste handling.
Seelampur in Delhi is one of India’s largest informal e-waste markets.
How it works
- Kabadiwalas (scrap collectors) buy old electronics from homes and offices.
- Small workshops dismantle devices by hand.
- Parts are sorted: circuit boards, copper wire, plastic and metals.
- Materials are sold to smelters or further processors.
Scale
Informal recyclers handle the majority of India’s e-waste, employing hundreds of thousands of people nationally.
Why informal dominates
- Better prices: informal collectors pay households more.
- Networks reaching every neighbourhood.
- Low costs: few safety or environmental expenses.
Problems
- Unsafe methods like burning cables and acid baths.
- Health risks for workers, including children.
- Pollution of soil and water.
Integration
Some programmes try to link informal collectors with formal recyclers, keeping jobs while improving safety.
A scrap collector buys an old laptop from a household for a few hundred rupees and sells it to a Seelampur workshop that strips out copper and circuit boards.
Informal recyclers handle most of India's e-waste.
- Seelampur is a major informal e-waste hub.
- Kabadiwalas collect; workshops dismantle.
- Informal recyclers handle most e-waste.
- Unsafe methods harm health and environment.
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