E-waste threat looms large - CIOL News Reports

E-waste threat looms large

If measures to tackle the threat are not formed right away, e-waste can lead to serious health and environmental problems

Pooja Sharma/DQ Channels

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

NEW DELHI, INDIA: The next time you want to throw away your old batteries or CDs or can’t think of what to do with your used mobile phone or computer, think beyond relegating them to an unused corner of the room.

Instead hunt around for ‘Special Bin’ or ‘Dropping Centers’ where these products will be taken to be disposed in an environment-friendly fashion.

For partners, this gains important given the amount of electronic products that they tend to discard every month.

Do now or suffer

Now is the time to do your bit for the environment and rather than dump e-waste at the nearest kabbadiwala.

Rapid changes in technology, an increase in consumer electronic products usage and huge disposal of these products, are contributing to e-Waste, one of the biggest menaces that humans will now have to battle with.

According to WEEE Directive, Electronic waste or e-waste can be called as ‘Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment’ (WEEE).

Simply put, all the damaged or obsolete models of IT and telecom products like mobile, computers, peripherals; electrical and electronic tools like TV, refrigerators; household appliances; toys, leisure and sports equipments; medical devices; consumer and lighting equipments, and monitoring and control instruments constitute e-waste.

The moment these products wear away, customers look at ways to get rid of them and subsequently end up either dumping them or giving it away to their less-fortunate relatives or selling the same in the secondhand market.

E-waste is not biodegradable and hence discarding them in the near-by garbage dump is not recommended.

When broken down, these devices contain toxins harmful to human health and environment.

Locally-generated and imported

According to the findings of the Manufacturer’s Association for Information Technology (MAIT) and the German Technical Cooperation agency, a total of 3,30,000 metric tones (MT) of e-waste is generated annually in India while an additional 50,000 MT is illegally imported.

These products contain substances such as lead, beryllium, mercury, etc., that if not handled properly, can create serious health hazards.

Copper used in these products releases dangerous gases harmful for the environment. Another component extensively used in products such as wires, when burnt, releases hazardous gases.

The contributors

The Indian PC market is booming with the sales of PCs and notebook registering 6.34 million units in 2006-`07, while mobile phone market posts a sales figure touching the 93 million units mark in 2007; televisions are expected to touch the 234 million mark in 2015 from 58 million units at the moment.

The bad news is that the all this will add to the mounting e-waste, and subsequently, to our woes.

While the fact is that a lot of these products are non- biodegradable, what is more startling is that the government till late did not have proper guidelines in place to tackle e-waste.

The first draft as to how to treat e-waste was released recently.

Ninety-four per cent of the organizations in India do not have a policy with regard to disposal of IT products. The awareness in the household segment is at an abysmal 30 per cent.

Clandestine in India

One of the biggest threats e-waste poses to India is that the country has become a dumping ground for most of the foreign companies, albeit clandestinely.

According to Dr J Biscoff, director GTZ, said, “In addition to the e-waste generated in the domestic market, dumping from developed countries has further increased the problem in India.”

This is apparently due to the high costs in developed countries to recycle electronic items. In India, these companies can hire cheap labor to get their waste recycled. Most of these imports are made in the name of charity, thanks to the lack of import regulations. Since the imported e-waste is not specified as electronic scrap, estimating the exact quantity is an uphill task.

In a nutshell, the disposal practices adopted by the users suggest that institutions dump obsolete material in their warehouses; home-users either throw them into a dustbin, donate, sell it to scrap dealers or in the second hand market or exchange it for a new devices and importers dump it illegally.

Another area of concern is the recycling process followed in India, which includes aggregation, segregation, dismantling and recycling.

Ninety-five per cent of the e-waste is handled by urban slums-based informal sector. Also the existing clutch of formal recyclers (seven-eight) does not have enough capacity to handle the enormous e-waste issue.

So while Chennai has Trishyiraya, Mumbai has Infotrek Syscom Ltd and Karnataka has e-Parisara to handle e-waste in their respective regions, New Delhi doesn’t have a formal recycler.

What is the solution?

What the government, institutions and end-users need to recognize their responsibilities and come together to handle e-waste.

The problem has to be handled at the generation stage as well as the disposal stage. The government needs to come up with effective regulations for manufacturers to replace old products through exchange and buy back schemes.

Again they can bring in the concept of ‘Special Bins’ that has been successful in other countries, so that end-users can dispose the waste material.

An incentive can also be given to customers who use Special Bins to encourage more people to dispose e-waste sensibly. Additionally, besides channelising informal recyclers, the government should keep an eye on imports and develop recycling capabilities in India.

Corporates’ role

Organizations need to create among end-consumers, such as concepts behind e-waste and about the hazardous material in the product. Additionally, firms can also make a buy-back offer at the point of sale and suggest safe disposal methods.

Further, at the disposal stage, firms can have tie-ups with dealers/resellers for the buyback schemes. Collection or dropping centers other than the dealer’s location can also help ameliorate the e-waste problem.

They can also mention the dealers or collection point addresses at the time of sale itself.

It may be noted that most of the companies in South India are bonded with the Software Technology Park India (STPI), whereby they cannot dispose their IT products without the approval from STPI.

Thus a tie-up between the formal recyclers and bodies in the lines of STPI can also solve the e-waste issue.

India’s ewaste scorecard

- Total WEEE generation is approximately 1,46,000 tonnes per year

- Top States in order of contribution include Maharastra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Delhi, Karnataka, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Punjab

- City-wise ranking of largest WEEE generators is Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Pune, Surat and Nagpur

- Approximately 30,000 computers become obsolete every year from the IT industry in Bangalore alone. The reason is an extremely high obsolescence rate of 30 per cent per year

- Almost 50 per cent of PCs sold in India are products from the secondary market and are re-assembled on old components
(Source: E-Waste Guide)

© CyberMedia News

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Prathiba said on 4/22/2008 12:42:05 PM:
India which is developing to be a major IT hub should consider disposal of e-waste as a responsibility. An easy way to register online for a free pick up of your e-waste. One such organization in India is De-Waste India.

to Prathiba

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