Evaluating Circular Economy Performance in India’s E-Waste Governance using the E-Waste Circularity Assessment Framework (ECAF)

Evaluating Circular Economy Performance in India’s E-Waste Governance using the E-Waste Circularity Assessment Framework (ECAF) | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Evaluating Circular Economy Performance in India’s E-Waste Governance using the E-Waste Circularity Assessment Framework (ECAF) Aladdin H.M Shaker, Puneet Pathak This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9129799/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 9 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The transition to a circular economy (CE) has become pivotal in tackling global resource depletion, pollution, and climate challenges. Nonetheless, assessing circular economy performance is difficult as current evaluation frameworks predominantly focus on material flows, recycling rates, and resource efficiency, offering scant insight into governance efficacy. The influence of regulatory enforcement, institutional capability, and policy execution on circular results is frequently inadequately evaluated. This study fills the void by developing the E-Waste Circularity Assessment Framework (ECAF) to assess circular-economy performance within India's e-waste governance framework. The methodology incorporates five analytical clusters—environmental, economic, social, enforcement and compliance, and institutional and data capacity to assess both circularity outcomes and the governance structures that facilitate them. Indicators were assessed using triangulated data from regulatory reports, the national Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) portal, judicial rulings, and Producer Responsibility Organization (PRO) case studies, and compiled into cluster-level and composite circularity scores using a standardized 1–5 scoring system. The findings reveal an ECAF score of 2.72/5, indicating that India's e-waste governance framework is partially established but not fully aligned with circular economy principles. Despite minor advancements in enforcement methods and institutional architecture, substantial deficiencies persist in environmental performance and social inclusion, particularly in hazardous waste management, RoHS monitoring, and the integration of the informal sector. This study introduces a governance-focused circularity evaluation model that enhances the literature on circular economy performance measurement and provides a repeatable instrument for assessing circular governance systems in emerging economies. Circular economy E-waste governance Extended producer responsibility Circularity assessment Regulatory enforcement India Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviews received at journal 29 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 22 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 22 Apr, 2026 Reviews received at journal 20 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 17 Apr, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 10 Apr, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 30 Mar, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 28 Mar, 2026 First submitted to journal 28 Mar, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9129799","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":625535335,"identity":"8bb3966d-9bcb-40aa-b0ec-a36494f5e20c","order_by":0,"name":"Aladdin H.M Shaker","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAABFElEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBACNnYGBgkeAwYGAwY2IPcHmxxI9MADPFr4mZG1MPbwGYO1JODRItkM0sIAs4VNLrEBJIxPi8Fh5oc33hTcsTdnP5b4uILHLH1+2OGHQFvs5HQbcGlhM7acY/AscWdP2mHDMxZpuRtvpxkAtSQbmx3ApYXBTJrH4HCCwYH0NskGnmO5G2cngLQcSNyGQ4v9YfZvIC32Bueft/9sYPufbjg7/QNeLQaHecC2MG64kXaMsYGNLUFeOge/LUAtxUC/HE7ccONZsmRjD5vhBumcggMJBnj8crx94403f0AOSzP82PCDTV5+dvrmDx8q7ORwacFiCFilAbHKQUC+gRTVo2AUjIJRMBIAAEqpZNHd2pWMAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"","institution":"Central University of Punjab","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Aladdin","middleName":"H.M","lastName":"Shaker","suffix":""},{"id":625535336,"identity":"f801b53e-68b4-428d-87e3-c09d67a11ba3","order_by":1,"name":"Puneet Pathak","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Central University of Punjab","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Puneet","middleName":"","lastName":"Pathak","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-03-15 15:39:07","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9129799/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9129799/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":107488054,"identity":"e978b702-b8d9-446d-a994-fabaabf1a7a8","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-22 02:43:22","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":649535,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9129799/v1_covered_85972929-2228-4351-b93c-839a33de3501.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Evaluating Circular Economy Performance in India’s E-Waste Governance using the E-Waste Circularity Assessment Framework (ECAF)","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"discover-sustainability","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"disu","sideBox":"Learn more about [Discover Sustainability](https://www.springer.com/43621)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"Discover Sustainability","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Discover Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Circular economy, E-waste governance, Extended producer responsibility, Circularity assessment, Regulatory enforcement, India","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9129799/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9129799/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"The transition to a circular economy (CE) has become pivotal in tackling global resource depletion, pollution, and climate challenges. 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