Clean energy could create millions of tons of waste in India

A group of tailors work in a small garage using electric sewing machines at the campus of the Swami Vivekananda Youth Movement, a nongovernmental organization that works to help poor and Indigenous communities, in Kenchanahalli, India, Sept. 23, 2024. A battery production engineer at Nunam assembles a refurbished battery pack, made from used electric vehicle batteries, at their facility in Bengaluru, India, Oct. 8, 2024.

On the edges of a dense forest in southern India, six women in a small garage are busy stitching cloth bags, pants, hospital gowns and office uniforms with automated sewing machines.