In Delhi’s e-waste hub, India’s informal workers lose business

In a dim room off a crowded alley in northeast Delhi, Shahjahan sits on the floor peeling wires with a knife. Her two children sort copper beside her, taking care to avoid tripping on scrap when they move across the room.

She earns a few hundred rupees, or about $2, a day by breaking down discarded electronics brought in by small scrap dealers.

But the supply of e-waste is thinning, and Shahjahan’s income is dwindling as more scrap moves to licensed plants on the edge of the capital.