An efficient waste management ecosystem is crucial to manage the huge waste generated in India’s new energy push

• In the Budget speech this year, the Finance Minister emphasised the role of cleaner technologies such as solar energy and batteries in India’s future economic growth.
• She also mentioned the importance of transitioning to a circular economy.

Market estimates

• The call for a circular economy is significant since an efficient waste management ecosystem would be necessary to manage the enormous waste generated by renewable energy projects in the coming decades.
• According to the IRENA, an intergovernmental organisation that supports countries in their transition to a sustainable energy future the cumulative waste generated by India’s total installed solar capacity could be as high as 325 kilotonnes by 2030.
• A circular economy could also partially insulate these industries from potential supply chain shocks triggered by extraneous developments.
• A robust renewables waste management and recycling ecosystem could help people and India reduce environmental harm, provide energy security, and also create new jobs.

Steps to nurture a circular economy in the Indian renewable energy industry:

• A clear framework: Policymakers should revise existing electronic waste management rules to bring various clean energy components under their ambit.
• It should clearly define the responsibilities of various stakeholders involved in the renewable energy value chain and provide annual targets for the collection and recycling of waste.
• Current rules are based on extended producer responsibility that identifies component producers as responsible entities to manage their waste products.
• The Indian renewable energy industry has a complex structure that comprises various manufacturers, assemblers, importers and distributors.
• The dumping and burning of different components should be banned.
• Currently, in the absence of any regulation, landfilling is the cheapest and most common practice to manage renewable energy waste.
• However, it is not environmentally sustainable.
• All clean energy technologies thrive on metals and non-metals with different levels of toxicity.
• If the waste equipment is dumped in the open, then these elements could leach into the environment and enter the food chain.
• Further, burning the polymeric encapsulant layer in solar photovoltaic modules releases toxic gases such as sulphur dioxide and some volatile organic compounds.

R&D is essential

• Recycling is a multistep process that includes dismantling, disassembly, and extraction.
• It is largely a manual process that is sometimes automated.
• Disassembly can be done mechanically, thermally or chemically.
• Besides these traditional methods, investments in research and development could help discover new ways of recycling that result in higher efficiency and a less environmentally damaging footprint.
• Industries should also explore technology transfers with global recycling firms for establishing domestic waste recycling facilities.

Focus on finance, quality

• Innovative financing: Access to finance is a major roadblock for players in the recycling ecosystem.
• The central government should nudge public and private sector banks to charge lower interest rates on loans disbursed for setting up renewable energy waste recycling facilities.
• Assurance of a minimum waste quantum to run these facilities and issuing performance-based green certificates to recyclers that could be traded to raise money for waste management would also help ease the financial burden.
• A market for recycled materials could also be created through mandatory procurement by renewable energy and other relevant manufacturing industries.
• Improvement in product design and quality: renewable energy component manufacturers should find substitutes for toxic metals such as cadmium and lead used in their products and simplify product designs to reduce recycling steps.
• Such improvements in process efficiencies could help in curbing waste creation at the source and its subsequent impact on the environment.
• Stringent quality control standards for components: this will prevent premature end-of-life of components and consequent waste creation.
• Substandard components generate considerable waste due to early life damage that is often irreplaceable, and the components often have to be discarded.
• Quality enforcement could also position India’s renewable energy industry as a global supplier of quality products.

Way forward

• The renewable energy recycling ecosystem has a complex structure where there are multiple actors involved, but it would be an integral part of our journey toward a sustainable future.
• Beyond sustainability, it would also offer quality employment opportunities for future generations as new jobs would be created across the entire value chain of waste management and recycling.
• Workers in the informal sector could access various socio-economic benefits and can have an improved quality of life.
• The majority of India’s recycling sector is informal and workers have to work in unsafe environments without standardised wages.

Conclusion

• Developing an efficient renewable energy waste management and circular ecosystem is imperative rather than a choice.
• We can ignore this, but only at our own peril.