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E-waste management – India must act quickly nowFor a sustainable solution to the problem of E-waste, India should evolve a recycling model on the lines of the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), prevalent in European countries. |
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India is one of the largest consumer goods market in the world. However, with the growing consumption of electronics and IT goods in the country, the environmental threat posed by E-waste has touched an alarming level. ‘E-waste’ is a collective name for discarded electronics devices that enter the waste stream from various sources that include electronic appliances such as televisions, personal computers, telephones, air conditioners, cell phones, electronic toys, etc. The quantum of electronic waste will cross 4.7 lakh tons per annum by the year 2011. Over the years, E-waste has become a global problem. The rapid technology change in the electronic devices coupled with low initial cost breeds obsolescence resulting in a growing e-waste environmental problem. What makes the matters worst for developing countries like India is that they have become a hot destination for developed nations for dumping their hazardous E-waste. To add to the problem is the unsafe recycling of the electronic goods in the unorganised sector leading to a negative effect on the environment. The effects of E-waste on human beings are too dangerous to be ignored. They are biologically non-degradable. Some of the highly toxic substances found in E-waste and their ill effects on human beings are as follows –
The alarming rate of generation of E-waste in India and the unsafe methods of disposal in the small and medium-scale units in the informal sector pose serious environmental and health risks. According to estimates, over two million old PCs are ready for disposal in India. About 30,000 computers become obsolete every year from the InfoTech industry in Bengaluru alone. About 80% of the e-waste generated in the US is exported to countries like India, China and Pakistan for e-waste processing activity.
Electronic waste, if treated properly, is a valuable source for secondary raw materials. However, if not treated properly, it is a major source of toxins and carcinogens. Unsafe recycling methods not only expose those involved in the activity to serious health hazards, but also pollute the surroundings. Therefore, there is a need to have an organised sector for recycling E-waste in a safe manner.
Technical solutions to tackle the problem of E-waste management are available but in India, much more is needed to be done in terms of legal framework, a collection system for the E-waste and the logistics involved in the process. According to Mr. Rohan Gupta, Chief Operating Officer of Attero Recycling, India’s leading company in the field of E-waste management, India needs to have stricter laws and greater enforcement when it comes to E-waste management. He explains how the company’s recently launched, state-of-the-art E-waste recycling facility in Roorkee is not only handling complete processing of E-waste in compliance with all safety norms but providing client-friendly services like pickup of E-waste from premises of the companies and complete data security.
Gupta adds that since E-waste management in the organised sector is in the initial phase in India, government must provide subsidies to the industry considering its importance in keeping the environment clean. “To have a sustainable solution on E-waste management in India, we need to evolve a recycling model on the lines of the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), prevalent in European countries, where companies which manufacture electronic products are made responsible for the safe recycling of the products after their useful life. The companies either recycle the products themselves or delegate this task to a third party,” says Gupta.
The author is Editor, Policy Proposals For India.
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