Portrayals in Print: Media Depictions of the Informal Sector’s Involvement in Managing E-Waste in India

For over a decade, media stories have exposed health and environmental harm caused by informal electronics recycling in less industrialized countries. Greater awareness of these risks helped inform regulations across the globe and the development of recycling standards. Yet, media depictions also shape public perceptions of informal workers and their role in handling electronic waste, or e-waste. This paper examines how mainstream print media describes the informal sector’s involvement in handling e-waste in India, especially as policymakers and other stakeholders currently grapple with how to integrate informal workers into formal, more transparent e-waste management schemes. This study evaluates depictions of the informal sector in print articles from both non-Indian and Indian news media outlets, employing controversy mapping principles and digital research tools. Findings may help inform stakeholder agendas seeking to influence public awareness on how to integrate informal workers into viable e-waste management solutions. Subsequent research based on these results could also help stakeholders understand the actors and networks that shape such media depictions. Results from the dataset show that most news articles describe informal workers negatively or problematically due to activities causing health risks and environmental damage, but usually do not discern which activities in the value chain (e.g., collection, dismantling, metals extraction) represent the greatest risks. Comparatively fewer articles portray informal workers positively or as contributing to e-waste solutions. Most articles also do not explain challenges that arise when working with informal workers. As such, media depictions today often lag behind policy debates and obscure multiple facets—good and bad—of the informal sector’s involvement in managing e-waste. Thus, an opportunity exists for policymakers, manufacturers, and advocacy groups to bridge the gap between current media representations of informal workers’ involvement in e-waste management and policy recommendations surrounding their role

Colonization of C57BL/6 Mice by a Potential Probiotic <i>Bifidobacterium bifidum</i> Strain under Germ-Free and Specific Pathogen-Free Conditions and during Experimental Colitis

<div><p>The effects of at least some probiotics are restricted to live, metabolically active bacteria at their site of action. Colonization of and persistence in the gastrointestinal tract is thus contributing to the beneficial effects of these strains. In the present study, colonization of an anti-inflammatory <i>Bifidobacterium bifidum</i> strain was studied in C57BL/6J mice under germ-free (GF) and specific pathogen-free (SPF) conditions as well as during dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis. <i>B</i>. <i>bifidum</i> S17/pMGC was unable to stably colonize C57BL/6J mice under SPF conditions. Mono-association of GF mice by three doses on consecutive days led to long-term, stable detection of up to 10⁹ colony forming units (CFU) of <i>B</i>. <i>bifidum</i> S17/pMGC per g feces. This stable population was rapidly outcompeted upon transfer of mono-associated animals to SPF conditions. A <i>B</i>. <i>animalis</i> strain was isolated from the microbiota of these re-conventionalized mice. This <i>B</i>. <i>animalis</i> strain displayed significantly higher adhesion to murine CMT–93 intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) than to human Caco–2 IECs (<i>p</i> = 0.018). Conversely, <i>B</i>. <i>bifidum</i> S17/pMGC, i.e., a strain of human origin, adhered at significantly higher levels to human compared to murine IECs (<i>p</i> < 0.001). Disturbance of the gut ecology and induction of colitis by DSS-treatment did not promote colonization of the murine gastrointestinal tract (GIT) by <i>B</i>. <i>bifidum</i> S17/pMGC. Despite its poor colonization of the mouse GIT, <i>B</i>. <i>bifidum</i> S17/pMGC displayed a protective effect on DSS-induced colitis when administered as viable bacteria but not as UV-inactivated preparation. Collectively, these results suggest a selective disadvantage of <i>B</i>. <i>bifidum</i> S17/pMGC in the competition with the normal murine microbiota and an anti-inflammatory effect that requires live, metabolically active bacteria.</p></div

UV-killed <i>B</i>. <i>bifidum</i> S17 does not protect C57BL/6J mice against DSS-induced colitis.

<p>(A) Effect of UV-killed <i>B</i>. <i>bifidum</i> S17/pMGC on DSS-induced weight loss (A) and increase in colonic weight:length ratio (B). Mice were treated with <i>B</i>. <i>bifidum</i> S17/pMGC and challenged with DSS (DSS/S17). Control mice received PBS as placebo and water with or without DSS (DSS/PBS and H₂O/PBS respectively, all groups <i>n</i> = 5). Values are mean ± standard error of the mean. Statistical analysis was performed by one-way ANOVA with Bonferroni post-test analysis for each day (B) or at the end of the trial (C). Asterisks indicate levels of statistical significance differences for comparison to H₂O/PBS group (*: p < 0.05; ***: p<0.001).</p

<i>B</i>. <i>bifidum</i> S17 is able to stably colonize GF but not SPF C57BL/6J mice.

<p>Fecal shedding of <i>B</i>. <i>bifidum</i> S17/pMGC following oral administration of three doses of 2×10⁹ CFU per animal on consecutive days (indicated as a black arrow) to C57BL/6J mice under SPF (A) or GF (B) conditions. Values are CFU/g feces and are mean ± standard error of the mean (<i>n</i> = 6 animals per experiment).</p

<i>B</i>. <i>bifidum</i> S17 is outcompeted from the GIT of mono-associated mice upon introduction of a normal microbiota.

<p>GF mice were mono-associated with <i>B</i>. <i>bifidum</i> S17/pMGC by three doses of 2×10⁹ CFU per animal on consecutive days (indicated as a black arrow) and maintained under GF conditions. After establishment of a stable population of <i>B</i>. <i>bifidum</i> S17/pMGC, mice were exposed to a normal microbiota by transfer to SPF conditions (day 0). Values are CFU/g feces and are mean ± standard error of the mean (<i>n</i> = 5 animals).</p

Colonization and effect of <i>B</i>. <i>bifidum</i> S17/pMGC in DSS-induced colitis.

<p>(A) Fecal counts of <i>B</i>. <i>bifidum</i> S17/pMGC in C57BL/6J mice before during and after administration of DSS. Animals received daily doses of 2×10⁹ CFU/animal of <i>B</i>. <i>bifidum</i> S17/pMGC starting 5 days prior to DSS challenge until to day 6 (i.e. 1 day after DSS treatment was stopped). Values are CFU/g feces and are mean ± standard deviation (<i>n</i> = 7 animals until day 6 and <i>n</i> = 3 thereafter). (B) and (C) Effect of <i>B</i>. <i>bifidum</i> S17/pMGC on DSS-induced weight loss (B) and colonic weight:length ratio (C). Mice of the DSS-challenged and <i>B</i>. <i>bifidum</i> S17-treated group (DSS/S17) are four out of seven animals shown in (A). Control mice received PBS as placebo and water with or without DSS (DSS/PBS and H₂0/PBS respectively, both <i>n</i> = 4). Values are mean ± standard error of the mean. Statistical analysis was performed by one-way ANOVA with Bonferroni post-test analysis for each day (B) or at the end of the trial (C). Asterisks indicate levels of statistical significance differences for comparison to H₂O/PBS group and letter for comparisons to DSS/PBS group (*: p < 0.05; **,^a: p<0.01; ***,^b: p<0.001).</p