At the Centre for Materials for Electronics Technology (C-MET) in Hyderabad, a 1 ton per day PCB recycling facility was officially opened by Shri Alkesh Kumar Sharma, Secretary of the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY).
Speaking on the occasion, he said that a circular economy approach to managing e-waste will be crucial to resource efficiency, pollution reduction, the recovery of precious materials, and the reduction of health risks. He claimed that the Ministry has implemented the SPECS scheme to assist e-waste recycling businesses in setting up shop in India as opposed to exporting their raw materials for recycling. He added that India's Mission to Atmanirbharata and circular economy will benefit from the homegrown e-waste recycling technologies.
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology of the Government of India houses the independent scientific society known as the Centre for Materials for Electronics Technology (C-MET). It has three R&D facilities, which are located in Hyderabad, Pune, and Thrissur. These facilities focus on various thrust areas related to critical electronic materials. The development of high-purity semiconductors, and strategic materials, including metals and alloys, is the main focus of the C-MET, Hyderabad lab.
Environmentally Friendly E-Waste Recycling Technologies
One of the main areas of focus for C-MET, Hyderabad, is the development of environmentally friendly e-waste recycling technologies in order to advance resource efficiency and the circular economy in the country. India produces about 3.2 million tons of electronic waste each year, which includes hazardous materials that can harm people's health in an irreversible way as well as many valuable materials like gold, palladium, silver, and others. The creation of environmentally friendly processes to address those issues is crucial in this context.
The first of its kind in the nation, the Center of Excellence (CoE) on E-waste Management was established by C-MET using a PPP model. The CoE on E-waste Management has created a wide range of e-waste recycling technologies, including those for used PCBs, Li-ion batteries, permanent magnets, and Si-solar cells, among others. The CoE-developed PCB recycling technology has reached Technology Readiness Level 6 and is now prepared for commercialization. Not only have recycling technologies been created by C-MET, but also the processing machinery that goes with them has been designed and manufactured.
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Technology is a useful servant, but a dangerous master, it was rightly said. Electronic devices have grown into an inevitable part of our daily lives.
