India Orders Nationwide Audit of E-Waste Recyclers to Crack Down on Fake Compliance
India has ordered nationwide audits of electronic waste recyclers to identify fraudulent recycling claims and forged compliance documents. The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has directed state authorities to inspect more than 2,000 recycling units, including 309 specialised e-waste recyclers. The move comes as India, the world’s third-largest generator of electronic waste, faces concerns that around 78% of discarded electronics are handled by informal scrap dealers using environmentally harmful methods.
The audit campaign will involve physical inspections of recycling facilities, machinery checks and trial runs to verify actual processing capacity. Officials will also compare electricity consumption with the production volumes reported by recyclers to identify inflated claims. Any forged or manipulated documents will be treated as a major violation, potentially resulting in recyclers being blocked from issuing Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) certificates. The crackdown follows concerns over fraudulent certifications and an earlier investigation involving appliance makers Haier and Godrej & Boyce.
The government introduced mandatory recycling obligations for companies in 2022, allowing them to purchase EPR certificates from authorised recyclers to meet their targets. However, concerns over fake certificates have prompted stricter oversight of the industry. Uttar Pradesh, which accounts for nearly one-third of India’s e-waste recyclers, has already begun inspections, with 33 facilities selected for immediate audits. The initiative is expected to strengthen accountability in India’s electronics recycling sector and ensure that recycling claims reflect actual waste processing.
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