In 2007, Nitin and Rohan Gupta were looking for an electronic waste recycler to discard an old laptop. Unable to find one, they looked for safe ways to dispose of the laptop.
However, they failed to find an effective solution that didn’t incinerate or burn the waste.
So, Nitin, a graduate of IIT-Delhi, and Rohan, a graduate in chemical engineering from REC Jaipur, channelled their expertise into developing a unique recycling process.
The brothers use a mix of mechanical and hydrometallurgical technologies to extract 98 percent of metals like gold and silver from e-waste.
They do this while ensuring low carbon dioxide emissions. The recovered metals include gold, silver, copper, tin, aluminium, lithium, cobalt, manganese, and nickel.
This led to the co-founding of their startup ‘Attero Recycling’, which provides end-to-end recycling solutions for electronic scrap.
The company adopts methods like Printed Circuit Board (PCB) recycling that involve recovery of copper, silver, and gold from printed circuit boards, and catalytic converters to extract platinum.
From a CFL bulb to industrial equipment, the company recycles more than 20 types of e-waste in its facility and can treat 1,44,000 tonnes of waste annually.
“Our environment is a collective responsibility. We should all do our bit to preserve it and adopt sustainable measures,” says Nitin.
He adds, “Let’s pledge to keep our environment and society clean, and ensure that our e-waste is recycled scientifically.”