ELECTRONIC WASTE MANAGEMENT

ELECTRONIC WASTE MANAGEMENT

ISSUES AND STRATEGIE

E-WASTE IN INDIA 

As there is no separate collection of e-waste in India, there is no clear data on the quantity generated and disposed of each year and the resulting extent of environmental risk. The preferred practice to get rid of obsolete electronic items in India is to get them in exchange from retailers when purchasing a new item. The business sector is estimated to account for 78% of all installed computers in India (Toxics Link, 2003). Obsolete computers from the business sector are sold by auctions. Sometimes educational institutes or charitable institutions receive old computers for reuse. It is estimated that the total number of obsolete personal computers emanating each year from business and individual households in India will be around 1.38 million. According to a report of Confederation of Indian Industries, the total waste generated by obsolete or broken down electronic and electrical equipment in India has been estimated to be 1,46,000 tons per year (CII, 2006). The results of a field survey conducted in the Chennai, a metroplolitan city of India to assess the average usage and life of the personal computers (PCs), television (TV) and mobile phone showed that the average household usage of the PC ranges from 0.39 to 1.70 depending on the income class (Shobbana Ramesh and Kurian Joseph, 2006). In the case of TV it varied from 1.07 to 1.78 and for mobile phones it varied from 0.88 to 1.70. The low-income households use the PC for 5.94 years, TV for 8.16 years and the mobile phones for 2.34 years while, the upper income class uses the PC for 3.21 years, TV for 5.13 years and mobile phones for 1.63 years. Although the per-capita waste production in India is still relatively small, the total absolute volume of wastes generated will be huge. Further, it is growing at a faster rate. The growth rate of the mobile phones (80%) is very high compared to that of PC (20%) and TV (18%). The public awareness on e-wastes and the willingness of the public to pay for e-waste management as assessed during the study based on an organized questionnaire revealed that about 50% of the public are aware of environmental and health impacts of the electronic items. The willingness of public to pay for e-waste management ranges from 3.57% to 5.92% of the product cost for PC, 3.94 % to 5.95 % for TV and 3.4 % to 5 % for the mobile phones.

· IMPACTS OF E-WASTES

 Electronic wastes can cause widespread environmental damage due to the use of toxic materials in the manufacture of electronic goods (Mehra, 2004). Hazardous materials such as lead, mercury and hexavalent chromium in one form or the other are present in such wastes primarily consisting of Cathode ray tubes (CRTs), Printed board assemblies, Capacitors, Mercury switches and relays, Batteries, Liquid crystal displays (LCDs), Cartridges from photocopying machines, Selenium drums (photocopier) and Electrolytes. Although it is hardly known, e-waste contains toxic substances such as Lead and Cadmium in circuit boards; lead oxide and Cadmium in monitor Cathode Ray Tubes (CRTs); Mercury in switches and flat screen monitors; Cadmium in computer batteries; polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in older capacitors and transformers; and brominated flame retardants on printed circuit boards, plastic casings, cables and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) cable insulation that releases highly toxic dioxins and furans when burned to retrieve Copper from the wires. All electronic equipments contain printed circuit boards which are hazardous because of their content of lead (in solder), brominated flame retardants (typically 5-10 % by weight) and antimony oxide, which is also present as a flame retardant (typically 1- 2% by weight) (Devi et al, 2004). Landfilling of e wastes can lead to the leaching of lead into the ground water. If the CRT is crushed and burned, it emits toxic fumes into the air (Ramachandra and Saira, 2004). These products contain several rechargeable battery types, all of which contain toxic substances that can contaminate the environment when burned in incinerators or disposed of in landfills. The cadmium from one mobile phone battery is enough to pollute 600 m3 of water (Trick, 2002). The quantity of cadmium in landfill sites is significant, and considerable toxic contamination is caused by the inevitable medium and long-term effects of cadmium leaking into the surrounding soil (Envocare, 2001). Because plastics are highly flammable, the printed wiring board and housings of electronic products contain brominated flame retardants, a number of which are clearly damaging to human health and the environment.

· STATUS OF E-WASTE MANAGEMENT IN INDIA

 Despite a wide range of environmental legislation in India there are no specific laws or guidelines for electronic waste or computer waste (Devi et al., 2004). As per the Hazardous Waste Rules (1989), e-waste is not treated as hazardous unless proved to have higher concentration of certain substances. Though PCBs and CRTs would always exceed these parameters, there are several grey areas that need to be addressed. Basel Convention has Waste electronic assemblies in A1180 and mirror entry in B1110, mainly on concerns of mercury, lead and cadmium.Electronic waste is included under List-A and List-B of Schedule-3 of the Hazardous Wastes (Management & Handling) Rules, 1989 as amended in 2000 & 2003. The import of this waste therefore requires specific permission of the Ministry of Environment and Forests. As the collection and re-cycling of electronic wastes is being done by the informal sector in the country at present, the Government has taken the following action/steps to enhance awareness about environmentally sound management of electronic waste (CII, 2006): 

§    Several Workshops on Electronic Waste Management was organised by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) in collaboration with Toxics Link, CII etc. 

§    Action has been initiated by CPCB for rapid assessment of the E-Waste generated in major cities of the country. 

§    A National Working Group has been constituted for formulating a strategy for E-Waste management. 

§    A comprehensive technical guide on "Environmental Management for Information Technology Industry in India" has been published and circulated widely by the Department of Information Technology (DIT), Ministry of Communication and Information Technology. 

§    Demonstration projects has also been set up by the DIT at the Indian Telephone Industries for recovery of copper from Printed Circuit Boards.

The Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs mandated the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research (EMPA) to implement the programme “Knowledge Partnerships in e-Waste Recycling" and India is one of the partner countries. 

§ WASTE MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES 

The best option for dealing with E wastes is to reduce the volume. Designers should ensure that the product is built for re-use, repair and/or upgradeability. Stress should be laid on use of less toxic, easily recoverable and recyclable materials which can be taken back for refurbishment, remanufacturing, disassembly and reuse. Recycling and reuse of material are the next level of potential options to reduce e-waste (Ramachandra and Saira, 2004). Recovery of metals, plastic, glass and other materials reduces the magnitude of e-waste. These options have a potential to conserve the energy and keep the environment free of toxic material that would otherwise have been released. Consumers are to be informed of their role in the system through a labelling requirement for items. Consumers to be educated to buy only necessary products that utilize some of the emerging technologies (i.e. lead-free, halogen-free, recycled plastics and from manufacturers or retailers that will `take-back' their product) to be identified through eco-labelling. Awareness raising programmes and activities on issues related to the environmentally sound management (ESM), health and safety aspects of e-wastes in order to encourage better management practices should be implemented for different target groups. Technical guidelines for the ESM of e-wastes should be developed as soon as possible.

 · CONCLUSION

 Solid waste management, which is already a mammoth task in India, is becoming more complicated by the invasion of e-waste, particularly computer waste. There exists an urgent need for a detailed assessment of the current and future scenario including quantification, characteristics, existing disposal practices, environmental impacts etc. Institutional infrastructures, including e-waste collection, transportation, treatment, storage, recovery and disposal, need to be established, at national and/or regional levels for the environmentally sound management of e-wastes. Establishment of e-waste collection, exchange and recycling centers should be encouraged in partnership with private entrepreneurs and manufacturers. Model facilities employing environmentally sound technologies and methods for recycling and recovery are to be established. Criteria are to be developed for recovery and disposal of E Wastes. Policy level interventions should include development of e-waste regulation, control of import and export of e-wastes and facilitation in development of infrastructure. An effective take-back program providing incentives for producers to design products that are less wasteful, contain fewer toxic components, and are easier to disassemble, reuse, and recycle may help in reducing the wastes. It should set targets for collection and reuse/recycling, impose reporting requirements and include enforcement mechanisms and deposit/refund schemes to encourage consumers to return electronic devices for collection and reuse/recycling. End-of life management should be made a priority in the design of new electronic products.

· REFERENCES

§    Agarwal R. (1998) India: The World's Final Dumpyard!, January, Basel Action News, Vol.1 at www.ban.org accessed on 14th September 2006. 

§    Alastair I. (2004) Mapping Environmental Justice in Technology Flows: Computer Waste Impacts in Asia Global Environmental Politics 4:4, Massachusetts Institute of Technology 

§    Asia-Pacific Regional Scoping Workshop on Environmentally Sound Management of Electronic Wastes, 19-22 November, 2002, Tianjin, China 

§    Ammons J and Sarah B. (2003) ‘Eliminating E-waste: Recycling through Reverse Production’ at www.lionhrtpub.com accessed on 7th September 2005. 

§    CII (2006). “E-waste management”, Green Business Opportunities, Vol.12, Issue 1, Confederation of Indian Industry, Delhi. 

§    Devi B.S, Shobha S. V, Kamble R. K. (2004). E-Waste: The Hidden harm of Technological Revolution, Journal IAEM, Vol.31, pp.196-205. 

§    DIT (2003). Environmental management for Information Technology industry in India, Department of Information Technology, Government of India, pp.122-124. 

§    Envocare (2001). Mobile Phone Recycling at www.envocare.co.uk accessed on 28th August 2005