Xiaomi launches new electronics recycling initiative in India

By Anil Mathews

NEW DELHI (Scrap Monster): Chinese technology major Xiaomi has partnered with TES-AMM to offer electronics recycling services to Indian consumers. The recycling initiative aims to collect wide range of end-of-life electronic devices, thereby preventing from ending up in landfill. The electronics thus collected would be responsibly recycled. The new initiative promises to reduce e-waste in the country. Incidentally, India is the world’s fifth largest electronic waste producer in the world. The recently conducted survey by ASSOCHAM indicates that the country’s e-waste is growing at a CAGR of 30%.

The e-waste management programme titled ‘Mi India Product Take-Back & Recycling Program’ aims to recycle end-of-life products. The company has stated clearly that it will not offer repairs or replacements for the damaged or non-functional products under this scheme. The users of the scheme would not be charged any fee for getting their products recycled responsibly. However, the company has advised customers to ensure that all data on devices are secured and erased before the items are handed over to them.

Consumers who wish to participate in the e-waste management program needs to create a Mi account. After logging into their account, he/she needs to fill out the online e-waste recycling form. Upon receipt of the request, the customer will be contacted by representatives of TES-AMM within seven days. The products will be collected within 15 days from the date of submission of online request. The collection schedule will be informed to the customer in advance. Alternatively, the e-waste can also be dropped at the nearest regional Xiaomi servicing centre. If the products are not collected within fifteen days, customers are requested to contact the authorized recycler, currently TES-AMM.

The recycling program will accept discarded electronic items including power banks, smart phones, mobiles, headphones, speakers etc. and other electronic products sold in India, irrespective of their brand. Upon successful completion of every pickup request, a discount coupon worth Rs 100 will be added to the customer’s registered Mi account. Coupons will be given to only those customers who provide complete phone units. According to Xiaomi, the coupons which will be issued within fourteen days from the date of pickup, could be redeemed at the company’s online store on a minimum purchase of Rs. 1,000 worth accessories including Mi Headphones Comfort, Mi VR Play, 20,000mAh Mi Power Bank, Mi In-Ear Headphones Pro and many more.

The collected electronic devices will be responsibly recycled in certified TES-AMM recycling facilities. In the first stage, devices including laptops and mobiles are manually dismantled. The components are carefully hand-sorted into various categories such as plastic, metal, battery etc., after which they are crushed into smaller sizes. In the next stage, magnets are used to separate crushed ferrous metals. The non-ferrous metals are further pulverized and separated into metallic and non-metallic fibres by using electrostatic separation techniques. The gold particles recovered from from PCBs are converted to bars. PCB pieces are crushed into fibrous powder. Finally, the fibrous fractions are extruded into pellets which are used to make various useful products.