E-waste management firms in Bengaluru reselling mobile phones and laptops despite ban

E-waste management companies in Bengaluru selling discarded electronics cheaply, compromising data security and environmental regulations.

A few e-waste management companies in Bengaluru are selling dumped mobile phones and laptops at cheap prices, despite rules that make it to mandatory to destroy them. 

These companies are licensed to carry out e-waste management, which includes electronic waste like computers, laptops, hard disks, electronic items and others. Selling of discarded mobile phones and laptops is banned as it can compromise the personal safety of individuals. 

While mobile phones are generally scrapped by individual users who do not wish to sell them fearing for their data security, laptops are usually given to e-waste management firms by the Information Technology (IT) and other companies. “E-waste companies have to destroy the devices by dismantling them. The electronic parts are then either crushed or sold to manufacturing companies,” said a worker associated with an e-waste company. 

In an attempt to make a little extra money, however, these companies are resorting to selling the items to potential buyers who cannot afford smartphones in the market, the worker added. Various iPhone models are being sold for as cheap as ₹5,000 or ₹6,000. The price depends on the model and weight of the mobile phone. The same applies to laptops.

“According to the waste management rules, we are not supposed to sell the products which we collect from the customers. The job of waste management is scientific disposal of the electronic waste,” he said.

V. Ramprasad, a waste management expert, said many e-waste management players in Shivajinagar, S.P. Road, Nayandahalli and Banashankari were reselling junked electronic items instead of dismantling it. In the age of technology and Artificial Intelligence (AI), a person’s data can be recovered from their devices, compromising the safety of the individuals as well as the companies.

In Bengaluru, there are about 90 companies involved in e-waste management. Even these companies are involved in dismantling, and not holistic processing.