An e-Mess Age

With import of e-waste banned in China in 2002, India & Pakistan have become the favourite e-waste dumping destination for the advanced countries. Inadequate recycling facilities and irresponsibility on behalf of electronic companies has resulted in a situation of crisis for e-waste management.

What is E-waste?

E-waste or electronic waste as the very name suggests consists of all electrically operated devices that have run their time and are intended to be discarded. Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) includes everything from discarded batteries (automotive, alkaline and button batteries), CRTs (cathode ray tubes), televisions sets, PCs, printers, electronic music devices like stereos, I-pods etc, vehicular equipment, cell phones -  the list is endless. Some may mistake e-waste to only include discarded IT products, but should not be so quick as to exclude other devices such as household equipment and home appliances like washing machines, phones, kitchen appliances, etc. It does not require an exceptional mind to comprehend the imperative need for proper management and disposal of all such equipment that is no longer functional and is irreparable.

E-waste generation occurs at many levels of manufacture and use. Most of this consists of equipment that has reached its end-of-life stage, but even those goods which continue to be manufactured in good stead, improperly or incorrect manufacturing, regular waste generated during the manufacturing process itself, as also those products in the market, whose consumption may have recently stopped and the support for which from the parent company has also been withdrawn, contribute to it.

The tremendous boost that the IT industry in India has experienced has had a significant downside as well – it probably represents the most important source of such quantities of unmanageable e-waste. The currently available e-waste management facilities are woefully inadequate to match the growth of the sector. Further the large amount of lower quality equipment being exported by more advanced countries at low costs to developing countries like India has added to this in a significant way. Right now the most common method adopted for disposal is through open auction, but storage and donations are also done in India. Approximately half of the PCs sold in India are products from the secondary market mostly reassembled using old components.

The need for proper disposal, preferably reuse and recycling, of e-waste is critical given the health hazards posed by several of these waste products. CRTs for example contain large quantities of lead which when handled improperly produce severe health problems like neurodegenerative diseases. Unregulated and improper recycling of e-waste has adverse impacts on human health as also the environment we operate in. To be able to successfully and in a sustainable manner dispose off this obsolete equipment, commitment from the producers, dealers and consumers alike is required for proper collection and channeling of the waste to recycling plants. This requires proactive and voluntary involvement from the manufacturers to undertake comprehensive responsibility for safe and environmentally sound product disposal post use across the lifecycle.

Recycling E-waste in India

E-waste recycling involves a number of refining and conditioning processes even after the manual dismantling is done. During dismantling itself, useful reusable products are sent back to the production units. After this, for direct usage and for obtaining secondary raw materials, they undergo refining processes. The solid waste that is created is then deposited in municipal landfills. In the Indian context, there are no efficient water and gas collecting systems installed thus causing significant gas and water emissions to occur. Rag-pickers and waste-pickers collect materials that could be used for recycling.

A number of companies in India have tie-ups with e-waste recycling plants and companies. E-WaRDD or Electronic Waste Recycling, Dismantling and Disposal company is one such which recently got Titan, the Watch major, as its first corporate client. Every year Titan organizes exchange offers for new watches in return of old ones. But even so, most of these land up in landfills, either because the consumers are unaware of the options available, or the old products cannot be recycled economically.

ELCIA (Electronic City Association) operates a collection centre for all e-waste of the Bangalore city E-Parisaraa is an authorized e-waste recycler that manages the e-waste collected by this association.

Conclusion:

In 2007 the amount of e-waste generated in India was about 3.3 lakhs. It is expected to go up to as much as 4.7 lakhs by 2011. Our country needs to take quick measures to prepare for management of such large amounts of waste.

Solutions to the problem of management of waste lie not only in the improvement in recycling and reusing of the waste, but also in controlling by legal means the entry of more low grade e-use products into the country. Awareness about the environmental and health problems that are faced due to inappropriate disposal of e-waste is required. The primary contributors to this problem, the producers, should voluntarily propose and adhere to strict regulations on collection and further recycling or reusing of the waste generated. An informed consumer and a responsible producer would provide the perfect solution to the problem.

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Kikuyumoja
Summerrunner2009