Experts stress the urgency of urban mining for sustainable resource management, emphasising responsible consumption.

Humankind now understands that it is crucial to recognise limited resources and the need to preserve them for future generations.

The concept of urban mining is apt, especially in the context of the heavy

reliance on electronics.

Dr Harveen Kaur, Environment Consultant, highlights the meaning of urban mining saying “It means reclaiming the materials and bringing them back into the system following a closed-loop approach.” 

While talking about regeneration, Utkarsh Singh, Co-founder and CEO, BatX Energies explains the basic properties of elements, stressing the sustainable approach.

“There’s a very basic property of the periodic table which is it can neither be created nor destroyed which means it can be reused infinitely,” he said.

Ashutosh Joshi, CEO, Glasspower Recycling & Glasspower Group at BW Recycling For A Greener Tomorrow Conclave & Awards stated that technology has become integral to people’s lives and they can’t imagine functioning without gadgets.

“To sustain this technology, we must find ways to keep these gadgets alive,” Joshi said.

Shobha Raghavan, Chief Operating Officer, Saahas Zero highlighted that with technology the world is going in a direction that is not good for nature and humans.

“All this happening because of the change that humans require from a perspective of convenience,” she said.

She emphasised that sustainable responsibility should start from the consumer’s end.

“Now it also has to be responsible for consumption and it starts from the consumer and apart from producers’ responsibilities,” Raghavan asserted. 

However, urban mining is not that easy as it also faces challenges, Kaur also highlighted one of the challenges saying, “Recyclers do not get enough quantity and they are unable to do it because of poor consumer participation and awareness.”

Manish Agarwal, CEO, Vrindavan Plastics Industries shed light on the reality of the landfills where even valuable things are lost which is the biggest issue today.

“Whatever is going into the dump is the greater concern today; as a result of improper source segregation, many valuable items are ending up in landfills, he explained.

Furthermore, Singh said that the pinpoint problem that India is lacking and now coping with is the development and advancement of technologies. 

“Incentives will promote the recyclers first of all the tod develop the technology within India.  And spreading the awareness,” Singh said.