Rapid technological changes give rise to the increase in purchase of consumer electronics, resulting in more e-waste, which ultimately results to more hazardous materials in land fills. This increases risk to human health and environment. Is it not the gloomy part or the darker side of the high technological development of electronics? Continuous and rapid flow of e-waste to the country in the form of donations and charity accounts form about 50% of the e-waste while the remaining come from old electronic equipments from government and private sectors, PC manufacturing unit, etc. Almost all the electronic components, such as printed circuit boards, cathode ray tubes, switches and flat screen monitors, computer batteries, capacitors, etc. contain toxic constituents such as beryllium, arsenic, antimony, lead, cadmium, mercury, lead oxide, poly vinyl chloride, etc. According to Environment Canada, a single personal computer consists of about 26% of silica/glasses, 23% of plastics, 20% of ferrous materials, aluminium 14% and others including lead, copper, zinc, mercury and cadmium constitute about 17%. Some key effects of these constituents are worth mentioning here. Beryllium, cadmium and arsenic are potential carcinogens, mercury and lead damages both the central and peripheral nervous systems, kidneys, liver and also affects child development. Brominated flame retardants may produce organic pollutants - brominated dioxins and furans, which can disturb endocrine function. Other hazardous chemical additives such as phthalates can leach when Poly Vinyl Chloride components of electronic products are sent to landfill.

"e-waste in India is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 25 percent from the current 55,000 MT per annum."

Source Enterprise Innovation, paper by ASSOCHAM

 

As per the information collected through investigations by organizations such as the Basel Action Network, Silicon Valley Toxcs Coalition, Toxics Link India, SCOPE (in Pakistan), Greenpeace and others, India, China and Pakistan are known destination of e-waste. According to financial express (2005), about 80% of the world’s e - waste reaches India, China and Pakistan. Our existing environmental standard, cheap and skilled labour, lack of technology, poverty, and strong market forces encourage developed countries to export e-waste to poor and developing countries like India. Another factor is the high cost of recycling in developed countries. In USA, recycling a single Personal Computer costs $20, but in India it costs only $2, so export saves $18 since the transportation cost is borne by the importer. Now, the fact is that many medium and big scrap dealers, and small recyclers are involved in informal sectors without any ecological and environmental reservations. All these practices pose a great occupational and governmental health threat, releasing cocktails of toxins. This needs a very serious and urgent attention from the government sector and non-government organizations. The increase in e-waste in India comes to about 3-5% per year which is almost three times faster than the municipal waste. And among the cities Mumbai leads in the generation of e-waste while Nagpur produces the least.

Some non-governmental organizations in developing Asian countries have initiated their own companies to promote safe handling and reduction of e-waste. The Government of India through the Ministry of Environment and Forests have taken many initiatives to tackle this menace, which require intervention at various levels – policy, technical, financial, implementation and capacity building. These could bring cleaner production mechanisms and extended producer responsibility. Toxics Link, in its workshop “e-waste: creating changes” on 5th -6th September 2013, in Gauhati, emphasized on the status of this menace which was attended by the chairman of pollution control board from the six north-eastern states. The gathering identified the lack of mass awareness about e-waste, still in its nascent stage, as one of the key factors, which required immediate attention. Even though the Ministry of Environment and Forestry notified the e - waste (Management and Handling) Rules 2011, effective from May 1 2012, there has been no substantial change in the north-east region. The workshop was concluded with the recommendation for safe e-waste management in the region and mass awareness campaign. It may be mentioned that only in 12 states of the country, registered e-waste dismantler or recycler are present. Out of these, the nearest to the North-east region is in West Bengal, having only one unit. Among the north-eastern states, Assam tops in the production of e-waste, followed by Meghalaya. It is high time that the government or the regulatory authority should think of one authorized dismantler or recycler of electronic wastes for the North-east region.

"The main contributor of e-waste in India is the US, which ships about 42 percent of its e-waste in the country, followed by China and the European Union"

A current strategy of e-waste management is the extension of life span and the implementation of the system of 3R-Reduce, Recycle and Reuse. In addition to this, a fourth R, which is now seen as very important is “Recover”, wherever it is possible. It is now included in educational curriculum also. The role of stake holders like manufacturers, recyclers, research institutions, experts in the field, etc. is also a very major role in controlling this biggest challenge. But the first and foremost aim should be spreading of awareness on this issue as far as possible for effective implementation because control and management of this hazardous waste is beyond impossible, until and unless, the awareness and current scenario on the subject goes much beyond the discussions in the circle of policy makers and government departments.

Dr P Munindro Singh