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The current e-waste industry in India is largely made up by the unorganized sector.

Understanding the supply chain and its drivers can provide key insights to

streamlining the process and making it more environmentally viable.

Mobile Phone E-waste Supply Chain in India -

Key Insights

CONTENTS

Key stake holders in the Supply Chain .................................................................................................. 1

a) Households ............................................................................................................................................... 1

b) Last Mile Collectors (LMCs) ................................................................................................................. 1

c) Mobile Phone Repair Shops ............................................................................................................... 2

d) Mobile Phone Aggregators/Dismantlers ....................................................................................... 2

e) E-waste Recycler ..................................................................................................................................... 2

1

Growing urbanisation and increasing incomes has

lead to the increased usage of gadgets in India,

making it one of the largest producers of e-waste

today. Computers, associated electric gadgets, white

goods and health equipment constitute a majority of

the e-waste produced. Mobile phones form a

significant percentage of the e-waste generated in the

country given the high rates of mobile phone

penetration.

Key stake holders in the Supply Chain

a) Households

Households are a good source of old mobile phones.

A majority of the households prefer to go to mobile

repair shops due to the good/acceptable selling

prices offered. Other places where mobile phones

are passed on to include company authorised

dealers, friends/relatives and second hand mobile

phone dealers. Few households even sell their mobile

phones to waste pickers or last mile collectors (LMCs’)

as well. Most of the non-working mobile phones are

sold to repair/service centres.

The price offered for the phone is the prime driver for

the choice of the sales channel. Other influencing

factors are referrals and the quality of relationship

maintained with the vendor.

Given the large volumes of mobile phone e-waste

generated in India, the complete e-waste handling

process is managed by both the organised and

unorganised sectors. Understanding the current

supply chain with its advantages and shortcomings

will provide valuable insights on further streamlining

the process to make it more viable and

environmentally sustainable.

b) Last Mile Collectors (LMCs)

The LMCs typically buy old mobile phones from

households or repair shops at minimal prices and sell

it to aggregators/dismantlers. Repair shops however

are the largest supply source for LMCs’ as households

refrain from using LMCs’ due to the low prices

offered. The unique feature of LMCs’ is that they

have both buying and selling transactions with repair

shops, depending on the price offered for the

transaction and the potential use of the product

thereafter. Most of the mobile phones collected by the

LMCs’ are sold to aggregators/material handlers and

repair shops while few are sold to second hand

shops.

LMCs’ are among the least educated in the e-waste

supply chain and have low awareness levels on the

environmental impact of e-waste; hence education

2

and collaboration with waste handling companies at

this point in the supply chain will be critical to ensure

an environmentally viable process.

c) Mobile Phone Repair Shops

Repair shops generally receive mobile phones from

households or LMCs’ in working/non-working

conditions. Most phones that are received by the

repair shops are dismantled and the working parts

are used for repairing other phones. In some cases,

the phones are also directly sold to aggregators and

large scrap dealers.

The repair shops decide the selling price of the phone

based on the age and brand of the phone; the

functionality and working condition of the phone has

very little bearing on the selling price.

d) Mobile Phone Aggregators/Dismantlers

Mobile phone aggregators/dismantlers are largely

waste pickers with a small shop where they

collect/dismantle all types of waste. Aggregators

collect phones in both dismantled and un-dismantled

forms. Aggregators normally sell their phone to large

scrap dealers and e-waste companies on

weekly/monthly basis. The sale of the phone is largely

influenced by the relationship maintained by the

vendor.

The price of phone is dependent on the price of the

specific phone part.

e) E-waste Recycler

E-waste recyclers recycle the mobile phones/mobile

phones parts either manually or through automatic

shredding equipment. The processing techniques for

the various parts are dependent on the nature of the

parts.

Despite being one of the largest e-waste producers in

the world, the e-waste recycling in India is largely

done by the unorganised sector, leading to potential

environmental hazards. In a survey conducted, a

majority of the supply chain were poorly educated on

the adverse environmental effects of the recycling

process; hence the key to improving the process lies

in education and creating awareness.

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Authors

Research & Analysis Shiwani Swaroop (Research Analyst) Content Pavithra Babu (Consultant - Content & Thought Leadership)