Originally reported and written in January 2023, this story has been republished as part of our archival content.

For Bangalorean Vishwanath Mallabadi Davangere, there is no such thing as a useless object or ‘waste’. Give him anything — discarded metal or plastic items, old gadgets, dysfunctional printed circuit boards — and he'll create art out of it. From jewellery, murals and sculptures to abstract art, art installations, wall art, and even robots.

The Wipro executive who turned into an eco-artist after retirement buys e-waste from scrap dealers and recyclers but says that he is selective in choosing the ‘waste’.

“I don’t pick up everything, only those items which have scope for transformation. I extract copper, gold or multi-coloured wires, keyboards and computer components that are useful according to the texture, colour and forms,” the 60-year-old tells The Better India.

Vishwanath’s passion is particularly relevant in the current age, where India generates more e-waste than it can recycle. In 2019-20, the country generated a total of 10.1 lakh tonnes of e-waste. Of this, only 22.7 percent was collected, dismantled, and recycled or disposed of.

The rest ends up in landfills, exacerbating environmental issues.

The eco-artist has upcycled and transformed nearly 200 kg of e-waste........

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