E-wastes: They too call for a 'burial'

BANGALORE, INDIA: However, this time around they need a proper burial.

Technology has creeped into our lives to a certain level that it cannot be done away with today. In an age, when consumer loyalty has become a word of yesteryears, companies cannot be blamed for bringing out newer application at short span either. Everyone wants to save their ass inorder to stay afloat in the rat race. So how will this menace be curbed?

India, who has been battling this issue for two decades now, even now lacks a proper legislative to tackle it. “In India there are no specific environment laws or guidelines for e-waste. None of the existing environmental laws have any direct reference to electronic waste or refer to its handling as hazardous in nature."

"However several provisions of these laws may apply to various aspects of electronic wastes. Since e-waste or its constituents fall under the category of 'hazardous' and 'non hazardous waste', they shall be covered under the purview of 'The Hazardous Waste Management Rules, 2003'."

Moreover, India is a part of  Basel Convention. Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) of India does not permit the import of electronics waste, it however finds its way through mis-declaration despite the fact that the Supreme Court has banned e-waste imports in 1997.

The worst part of it all is that irrespective of  these laws, Indian that calls itself the second fastest growing economy in the world as well as one of the powerful nations in the world, still doesn't have a legislation against these imports and lack of a clear policy for e-waste processing. Even today culprits go unharmed because there is no such law for which they could be punished for.

“The government hasn’t really worked on finding a workable solution to this problem. There are no policies, tools, or effective infrastructure for recycling available in India. In the past one year or so, we have seen seven-to-eight e-waste recyclers sprouting here and there. However, we still lack proper infrastructure for end-to-end e-waste recycling including metal recovery process,” sources from Greenpeace note.

Moreover, there has been very little effort by the companies in spreading awareness among the users. Though some companies have started taking back their end of life products, consumer are hardly aware of such facilities. There are only a few recognised e-waste recyclers in India, namely E-parisaraa, Ash Recyclers (more in the business of refurbishment) in Bangalore, Tes-Amm in Chennai and TIC Group in Noida.

Currently, the convention enjoys the overwhelming ratification of 168 countries. However, the US has still not signed the Basel convention.

Moreover, EU Legislation brought the law to restrict the use of hazardous substance in electrical and electronic equipment and to promote the collection and recycling of such equipment in 2004. More than four years later only about a third of electrical and electronic waste is reported to be treated in line with these laws and the rest two-thirds is going to landfills and potentially to sub-standard treatment sites in or out the EU.

How to bell the cat

There are several companies that follow all the regulations set forth for the safer disposition and greener products in the West. But when it comes to East, since there is no strong legislation in place they don't follow the standards.

“There is some movement happening on government front, but not much. A few state governments such as  Maharastra and Karnatka are working to formulate policy for e-waste management within their respective jurisdictions. Whereas the India Government has notified an “e-waste guideline” for management of e-waste in India, which is voluntary in nature and is not effective to change the situation on the ground.” Moreover, taking the gravity of the problem, it is less than even a far cry at this juncture.

“Since these guidelines are voluntary in nature, the electronics industry strongly feels that a regulation needs to be put in place to manage this problem. Manufacturers' Association of Information Technology (MAIT) is steering to bring in a E-Waste law' based on the principles of Individual Producer Responsibility (IPR), according to which a producer/manufacturer is responsible for the total lifecycle of a product. i.e from its production till the end of life phase, collection, recycling and discarding them off in an eco-friendly manner.”

The aforesaid initiative is on the behalf of electronic industry with joint recommendation of industry associations such as TEMA, CEAMA, and ELCINA, and civil societies such as Greenpeace, Toxics Link and GTZ. All major electronic brands (both Indian and Global) are part of this initiative. After the finalisation,it will be soon submitted to the Ministry of Environment and Forest for enactment.

The objective is to put in place an effective mechanism to regulate the generation, collection, storage, transport, import, export and environmentally sound recycling, treatment and disposal of e-waste.