How do current informal recycling practices impact health and the environment in Nepal?

 Current informal recycling practices in Nepal have severe impacts on both public health and the environment due to rudimentary methods and a lack of protective measures.

Impacts on Health: Approximately 90% of Nepal's e-waste is processed informally by waste pickers or kabadi-walas who typically operate without personal protective equipment (PPE). These workers and surrounding communities are exposed to highly toxic substances, including lead, mercury, cadmium, brominated flame retardants, and arsenic, released during processes like manual dismantling, open-air burning, and acid leaching to extract valuable metals.

Health studies have linked these exposures to a range of adverse effects:

• Respiratory illnesses and chronic cough.
• Skin diseases and chemical burns.
• Neurological impairments and developmental delays in children.
• Hypertension, metabolic disorders, and cancers.
• Reproductive damage, such as stillbirths and premature births.

Children living near informal recycling sites are particularly vulnerable. The World Health Organization has stressed the urgent need to regulate informal recycling to prevent these significant hazards.

Impacts on the Environment: The toxic substances released during informal e-waste processing accumulate in the environment, leading to widespread contamination.

• Air pollution is a direct result of open-air burning.
• Polluted groundwater and soil are common, threatening agricultural productivity and biodiversity around recycling hotspots.
• Toxic heavy metals from e-waste bioaccumulate, entering local food chains with long-term ecosystem impacts.
• Toxic emissions also negatively affect urban agriculture and water bodies, further compounding public health risks in cities like Kathmandu.
• Furthermore, due to the lack of domestic processing infrastructure, scrap collectors often export e-waste components, including hazardous batteries, to India, risking illegal transboundary movement, which contravenes the Basel Convention to which Nepal is a party.

The informal sector's dominance and lack of formal facilities intensify these challenges, creating a "ticking environmental time bomb" in Nepal.