Wanted: national e-waste policy for India

HYDERABAD, INDIA: Much is being talked about the success of the Indian IT industry. But if we have to make an excellent environment for hardware manufacturers and encourage electronic production in the country, a comprehensive national policy on waste electrical and electronic equipment is essential.

Experts opine that legislation in India for e-waste will not only help fight the huge environment threat but also make business sense.

India currently produces 400,000 tons of e-waste annually. The country is estimated to grow about 1,100,000 tons by 2012, according to a Greenpeace survey.

“India is lagging behind in legislation. After US and European countries formed these polices, China was quick to adapt and draft a similar policy and benefited from it,” says Ramapati Kumar, manager, Greenpeace India Toxics Campaign.

A draft was made in 2006 by the central pollution control board, which was thankfully not passed. “The then presented draft put all responsibility on the consumer, a model that has not worked anywhere. Legislation that should be made emphasizing producer responsibility,” said Kumar.

Greenpeace has been running a campaign to lobby for a policy for the past few years in India. The organization works in co-ordination with the industry to provide points and ranking to electronics manufacturers to produce green products.

“No business works on its own initiative without legislation for such concerns. Companies that want to cater to the global market adhere to this legislation else they will simply lose business there. But the majority of e-waste generated from the consumer end is handled by unorganized ‘raddiwals’ is posing a big threat to the environment,” said Kumar.

A guideline was issues by the central government last month. But it does not have value, as it is not mandatory. The need of the hour is a legislation that will lay down strict policies for electronic producers to follow.

Such an initiative will ensure that manufacturers have a friendly take back policy from consumers. India has 30 computer users per thousand, a figure that is set to move up drastically. The policy would also need to stress on the research by these manufacturers to focus on green electronic products.

e-waste is hazardous to the environment due to the presence of the chemicals such as Lead, Mercury, Cadmium, Chromium and the like. Substitutes to these chemicals will negate the threat to the environment, feels Kumar.

“Most of the e-waste is collected from large corporations and households in an unprofessional manner. Such a process results in extracting only 4 per cent of the reusable metals. This is not only loss but also harmful to the environment,” said Kumar.

A policy emphasizing on the co-ordination between the unorganized sector of trash collectors and companies will ensure proper disposal and recycling, he adds.