A study states that the national capital region (NCR) may soon become the world’s dumping capital for e-waste as it would generate an estimated 50,000 tonne of this per annum by 2015. Also, according to a study conducted by The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham), ‘E-waste in India by 2015’, currently, Delhi generates around 30,000 tonnes of e-waste per annum.

According to Assocham Secretary General, D.S. Rawat, over 1.5 lakh workers are employed in the city's various organised and unorganised recycling units, dismantling around 8,500 mobile handsets, 5,500 TV sets and 3,000 personal computers everyday for reuse of their component parts and materials. This increased consumption of e-waste is due to the products becoming more affordable, leading to increase in disposal, thus increasing the rate of obsolescence and replacement.

The recyclers working in the NCR region are poorly protected in an environment where e-waste from electronic devices are burned in the open, which releases lead and mercury toxins into the air. According to the study, Delhi gets around 85 per cent of e-waste from the developed world.

Mumbai and Chennai are the top importers of junk computers and electronic waste in India, but Delhi has emerged as the main hub of e-waste recycling in India and perhaps the World. As per estimates, around 45,000 children in the age group of 10 to 14 are engaged in various e-waste activities in Delhi's recycling units, advocating for an effective legislation to curb the menace.

B.K. Rao, Chairman of Assocham's health committee, states that domestic e-waste like computers, mobiles and refrigerators contain over 1,000 toxic materials. This may affect the recyclers’ health, and they may suffer from liver, kidney and neurological disorders.