managing e-waste indian perspective

8/14/2019 Managing E-Waste Indian Perspective

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Managing E-Waste: Indian Perspective

Rapid technological innovations in computing following the doubling of the processing power of

chips almost every two years are rendering most of the electrical and electronic equipmentobsolete in the blink of an eye. This, coupled with the changing

lifestyle in the era of more disposable income, is littering the urbanscape with the digital detritusof the digital age called Electronic Waste or simply E-Waste.

Long-term exposure to deadly component chemicals and metals like lead, cadmium, chromium,mercury and polyvinyl chlorides (PVC) can severely damage the nervous systems, kidneys andbones, and the reproductive and endocrine systems, and some of them are carcinogenic andneurotoxic. It is a generic term used to describe old, end-of-life electronic appliances such ascomputers, laptops, TVs, DVD players, Mobile Phones, MP-3 players, etc., which have beendisposed of by their original users. Though there is no generally accepted definition of E-waste, inmost cases, E-waste comprises of relatively expensive and essentially durable products used for

data processing, tele-communications or entertainment in private house-holds and businesses.Public perception of E-waste is often restricted to a narrower sense, comprising mainly of end-of-life information and tele-communication equipment, and consumer electronics. However,technically speaking, electronic waste is only a sub-set ofWEEE (Waste Electrical & ElectronicEquipment). According to theOrganization for Economic Cooperation & Development(OECD), any appliance using an electric power supply that has reached its end-of-life wouldcome under WEEE.

At macro-level, there are two ways to handle the E-Wastes: Disposal or Recycle / Refurbish.

Disposal

The anatomical architecture of computers are that, parts of micro-processor, computer chip,monitor, circuit board, molded plastics make-up that gleam, think pad / PC. At atomic level, thearray of chemical constituents that make-up the computers are the trail of lead and cadmium,barium, poly-chlorinated biphenyl, etc. De-facto horror is that they all release highly toxic dioxinsand furans under its own unfavorable conditions. Land-filling E-waste, one of the most widelyused methods of disposal, is prone to hazards because of leachate which often contains heavywater resources. Even state-of-the-art landfills are sealed to the long-term. Older landfill sites anduncontrolled dumps pose a much greater danger of releasing hazardous emissions.

Mercury, Cadmium and Lead are among the most toxic leachate. Mercury, for example, will leachwhen certain electronic devices such as circuit breakers are destroyed. Lead has been found toleach from broken lead-containing glass, such as the cone glass

of cathode-ray tubes, from TVs and monitors.

When brominated flame retarded plastics or plastics containing cadmium are landfilled, bothPBDE and cadmium may leach into soil and ground-water. In addition, landfills are also prone touncontrolled fires which can release toxic fumes. Apparently, landfilling, the state-of-the-artdisposal technique to manage E-wastes, in real sense is a Poisonous Pandora's Box. Landfillsare underground facility, where all the wastes produced on planet are dumped, and sealing it upin an engineered way that it doesn't seep through air or ground. It's just like: Collect all thebloodiest-poisonest-devilish anacondas from Amazon and seal them up in an 'engineered' hood.It's easier to visualize the consequence if any delicate damage happens to the seal. There are


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hundreds of 'abandoned' landfills, upon which now the slender-tall buildings crop-up, due to thereal-estate boom. The under-ground scenario is permeation of leached wastes whichcontaminates the ground-water. Consumer electronics constitute 40 per cent of the lead found inlandfills. The lead is treacherous that even if burned, stomped, or buried, will sustain its life cycle!

Recycling

Specialized electronic recyclers strip-off essential re-usable components and incinerate the left-overs in smelters. However, the end product is a metal stream, which is worth some money,based on the composition of the metals. It's got a lot of steel, aluminum and copper. Thescrapped chunks could be recycled / used, but it's the least preferred, since the cost of recyclingis not free. Either the producer should inflate the cost of greener-product or the governmentshould provide subsidiaries for it. That's not a commercial equation which could be marketedsince it's not a producer's responsibility to give ultra-green products at a marketable cost. Addedto that, due to regulations and pollution laws, it's often cheaper to export the scrap to third world /needy countries where such laws, if they exist at all, are more lax than those in Canada and theUnited States. Cool, collect resourceful metals from the amalgamation of scraps! There arenumber of countries that make a huge business in the processing, recycling, smelting anddisassembling of electronics, and pathetically, it is done in an environmentally unfriendly manner.

Recyclable electronic waste is sometimes further categorized as a "commodity", while E-waste,which cannot be reused, is distinguished as "waste". Some activists define "Electronic Waste" toinclude all secondary computers, entertainment devices,

electronics, mobile phones, and other items, whether they have been sold, donated, ordiscarded by their original owner. This definition includes used electronics which are destined for

reuse, resale, salvage, recycling or disposal. Others define the reusable (working and repairableelectronics) and secondary scrap (copper, steel, plastic, etc.) to be "commodities", and reservethe use of the term "waste" for residue or material which were represented as working orrepairable but which were discarded by the buyer. Debate continues over the distinction between"commodity" and "waste" electronics definitions. Some exporters deliberately leave obsolete ornon-working equipment mixed in loads of working equipment (through ignorance, or to avoid

more costly treatment processes for 'bad' equipment).

On the other hand, some importing countries specifically seek to exclude working or repairableequipment in order to protect domestic manufacturing markets. "White Box" computers ('off-brand' or 'no name' computers) are often assembled by smaller scale manufacturers utilizingrefurbished components. These 'white box' sales accounted for approximately 45 per cent of allcomputer sales worldwide, and are considered a threat to some large manufacturers, who,therefore, seek to classify used computers as 'waste'. Due to the difficulty and cost of recycling ofused electronics as well as lack-lustre enforcement of legislation regarding E-waste exports, largeamounts of used electronics have been sent to countries such as China, India, and Kenya, wherelower environmental standards and working conditions make processing E-waste more profitable.E-waste is imported as second-hand goods. In June 2008, a container of illegal electronic waste,destined from Port of Oakland in the US to Sanshui district in mainland China, was intercepted in

Hong Kong by Greenpeace.

While a protectionist may broaden the definition of "waste" electronics, the high value of workingand reusable laptops, computers, and components (e.g., RAM), can help pay the cost oftransportation for a large number of worthless "commodities". Broken monitors, obsolete circuitboards, short circuited transistors, and other junk are difficult to spot in a container-load of usedelectronics. As the price of gold, silver and copper continue to rise, E-waste has become moredesirable. E-waste round-ups are used as fund spinner in some communities. Until such time asequipment no longer contains such hazardous substances, the disposal and recycling operations


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must be undertaken with great care to avoid damaging pollution and workplace hazards, andexports need to be monitored to avoid "toxics along for the ride".

Both types of E-waste have raised concerns considering that many components of suchequipment are considered toxic and are not biodegradable, which can have an adverse impact onhuman health and the environment, if not handled properly. Often, these hazards

arise due to improper recycling and disposal processes used. For example, Cathode RayTubes (CRTs) have high content of carcinogens such as lead, barium, phosphorus and other

heavy metals. When disposed carefully in a controlled environment, they do not pose any serioushealth or environmental risk. However, breaking, recycling or disposing CRTs in an uncontrolledenvironment without the necessary safety precautions can result in harmful side-effects for theworkers and releases toxins into the soil, air and ground-water. Another dangerous process is therecycling of components containing hazardous compounds such as halogenated chlorides andbromides used as flame-retardants in plastics, which form persistent dioxins and furans oncombustion at low temperatures. Copper, which is present in printed circuit boards and cables,acts as catalyst for dioxin formation when flame-retardants are incinerated. The PVC sheathing ofwires is highly corrosive when burnt and also induces the formation of dioxins. A study on burningprinted wiring boards in India showed alarming concentrations of dioxins in the surroundings of

open burning places reaching 30 times the Swiss guidance level.

There is an estimate that the total obsolete computers originating from government offices,business houses, industries and households is of the order of 2 million. Manufactures andassemblers in a single calendar year, are estimated to produce around 1200 tonne of electronicscrap. The obsolence rate of personal computers (PC) is one in every two years. The consumersfind it convenient to buy a new computer rather than upgrading the old one due to the changingconfiguration, technology and the attractive offers by the manufacturers. Due to the lack ofgovernmental legislations on E-waste, standards for disposal, proper mechanism for handlingthese toxic hi-tech products, mostly end up in landfills or partly recycled in unhygienic conditionsand partly thrown into waste streams. Computer waste is generated from the individualhouseholds; the government, public and private sectors; computer retailers; manufacturers;foreign embassies; secondary markets of old PCs. Of these, the biggest source of PC scrap is

foreign countries that export huge computer waste in the form of reusable components.

Electronic waste or E-waste is one of the rapidly growing environmental problems of the world. InIndia, the electronic waste management assumes greater significance not only due to thegeneration of our own waste but also dumping of E-waste, particularly computer waste, from thedeveloped countries. With high extensity of using computers and electronic equipments andpeople dumping old electronic goods for new ones, the amount of E-waste generated has beensteadily increasing. At present, Bangalore alone generates about 8000 tonne of computer wasteannually, and in the absence of proper disposal, they find their way to scrap dealers.

E-Parisaraa, an eco-friendly recycling unit on the outskirts of Bangalore, which is located inDobaspet industrial area, about 45 km north of Bangalore, makes full use of E-waste sinceAugust 2005. KSPCB approved, E-Parisaraa represents in the National Task Force on e-waste

constituted by MoEF.

E-Parisaraa works closely with GTZ of Germany and EMPA of Switzerland. The plant, which isIndia's first scientific E-waste recycling unit, will reduce pollution, landfill waste and recover

valuable metals, plastics and glass from waste in an eco-friendly manner. E-Parisaraa hasdeveloped a circuit to extend the life of tube-lights. The circuit helps to extend the life offluorescent tubes by more than 2000 hours. If the circuits are used, tube-lights can work on lowervoltages. The initiative is to aim at reducing the accumulation of used and discarded electronicand electrical equipments.


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India, as a developing country, needs simpler, low-cost technology, keeping in view of maximumresource recovery in an environmental friendly methodology. E-Parisaraa deals with practicalaspect of E-waste processing by hand. Phosphorus affects the display resolution and luminanceof the images that is seen in the monitor.

An eco-friendly methodology for reusing, recycling and recovery of metals, glass and plastics with

non-incineration methods has been developed. The hazardous materials are segregatedseparately and send for secure landfill; for example, phosphorous coating, lead, mercury, etc. Wehave the technology to recycle most of the E-waste, and only less than one per cent of this will beregarded as waste, which can go into secure landfill planned in the vicinity by the HAWA Project.

The Challenges

The challenges of managing E-waste in India are very different from those in other countries, boththe developed and developing. No doubt, there can be several shared lessons; the complexity ofthe E-waste issue in India, given its vast geographical and cultural diversity and economicdisparities, makes WEEE management challenges quite unique. A few of these are: -

Rapidly increasing E-waste volumes, both domestically generated as well as through imports.

Imports are often disguised as second-hand computer donations towards bridging the digitaldivide or simply as metal scrap.

No accurate estimates of the quantity of E-waste generated and recycled.

Low level of awareness amongst manufacturers and consumers of the hazards of incorrect E-waste disposal.

Widespread E-waste recycling in the informal sector using rudimentary techniques such asacid leaching and open air burning resulting in severe environmental damage.

E-waste workers have little or no knowledge of toxins in E-waste, and are exposed to serious

health hazards.

Inefficient recycling processes result in substantial losses of material value.

'Cherry-picking' by recyclers who recover precious metals and improperly dispose of therest.

The Status

The first comprehensive study to estimate the annual generation of E-waste in India and answer

the questions above is being undertaken up by the National WEEE Taskforce. The preliminaryestimates suggest that total WEEE generation in India is approximately 1,46,000 tonne per year.The top states in order of highest contribution to WEEE include Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh,Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Delhi, Karnataka, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh andPunjab. The city-wise ranking of largest WEEE generators is Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai,Kolkatta, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Pune, Surat and Nagpur.

An estimated 30,000 computers become obsolete every year from the IT industry in Bangalorealone simply due to an extremely high obsolescence rate of 30 per cent per annum. Almost 50


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per cent of the PCs sold in India are products from the secondary market and are re-assembledon old components. The remaining market share is covered by multinational manufacturers (30per cent) and Indian brands (20 per cent). Three categories of WEEE account for almost 90 percent of the generation - Large Household Appliances, (42 per cent), Information &Communications Technology Equipment, (34 per cent), Consumer Electronics, (14 per cent).

Over 2,000 trucks ferry E-waste in a clandestine manner and dump it in Delhi's scrap yards atvarious locations, particularly Turkman Gate, Shastri Park, Loni, Seelampur and Mandoli. This E-waste primarily comes from Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, and if Delhi were to protectitself from such hazardous waste, then it would have to bring an effective legislation to prevententry of child labour into its collection, segregation and distribution. More than 6,000 children inthe age group of 10 to 15 years are engaged in various E-waste activities without adequateprotection and safeguards. They operate from various yards and recycling workshops. ThreeStates that send waste to Delhi generate over 25,000 tonne of E-waste through various industrialactivities. In a discreet arrangement with transporters, they dump around 50 per cent of it atdifferent places in Delhi. E-waste imported into Mumbai, Chennai, and Bangalore usually makesits way to Delhi as there is a ready market for glass and plastic in the National Capital Region. Infact, waste from Mumbai constitutes a bulk of the 60 to 70 tones discarded electronics that land inDelhi's scrap yards everyday.

It has also been estimated that Delhi alone gets 25 per cent of the E-waste generated in thedeveloped world which comes through cheaper imports. Such is the scale of the menace that ithas now acquired the dimension of an industry that employs nearly

30,000 workers in various scrap-yards and unauthorized recycling units. The States sending E-waste to Delhi should develop their own scrap-yards. Noting that the NCR has over 40,000

industrial and medical units responsible for generating the waste, Delhi Government should plantaround 20 lakh saplings every year. Currently, a mere 5 per cent of E-waste recycled in thecountry is recycled by the handful of formal recyclers and the rest is recycled by the informalrecyclers.

The E-waste recycled by the formal recyclers is done under environmentally sound practices

which ensure that damage is minimized to the environment. They also adopt processes so thatthe workforce is not exposed to toxic and hazardous substances released during recyclingprocess. But they cannot match either the reach or the network of the informal recyclers used forsourcing of old electrical and electronic items from business as well as individual households. Theitems are collected, segregated and the ones that cannot be sold as it is are further dismantled bythe informal recyclers. The final step is recycling which is mainly manual using simple tools likehammer, screw driver, etc., and by the use of rudimentary techniques like burning of wires in theopen, using acid bath for extraction of precious metals. Furthermore, these activities are carriedout without wearing any protective gear like masks, gloves, etc. In the absence of suitableprocesses and protective measures, recycling E-waste results in toxic emission to the air, water,soil and poses serious environmental and heath hazards.

Thus, the challenges are manifold: environmental and health hazards; lack of awareness

amongst various stakeholders including public at large; investment required for setting up ofstate-of-the-art waste management facilities; monitoring and reporting of the E-waste generated;and most importantly, reconciling technological advancement with sustainable development.

The Problems

If treated properly, electronic waste is a valuable source for secondary raw materials. However, ifnot treated properly, it is a major source of toxins and carcinogens. Rapid technology change, lowinitial cost and planned obsolescence have resulted in a fast growing problem around the globe.


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Technical solutions are available, but in most cases, a legal framework, a collection system,logistics and other services need to be implemented before a technical solution can be applied.Electronic waste represents only 2 per cent of America's trash in landfills, but it equals 70 percent of overall toxic waste.

Due to higher reuse and repair capability, as well as lower environmental standards and working

conditions, markets for used electronics have expanded in China, India, Kenya, and elsewhere.Generally, the cost of transport is covered by legitimate reuse and repair value.

However, there is a disincentive to screen out electronic waste, which requires additional staffas well as environmental liabiity in the (developed) generator country. Demand is also strong

where there is copper and aluminum and plastic smelting. Guiyu in the Shantou region of China,and Delhi and Bangalore in India, all have electronic waste processing areas. Uncontrolledburning, disassembly, and disposal are causing environmental and health problems, includingoccupational safety and health effects among those directly involved, due to the methods ofprocessing the waste. Trade in electronic waste is controlled by the Basel Convention. However,the Basel Convention specifically exempts repair and refurbishment of used electronics in AnnexIX.

Electronic waste is of concern largely due to the toxicity and carcinogenicity of some of thesubstances if processed improperly. Toxic substances in electronic waste may include lead,mercury, cadmium. Carcinogenic substances in electronic waste may include polychlorinatedbiphenyls (PCBs). A typical computer monitor may contain more than 6 per cent lead by weight,much of which is in the lead glass of the CRT. Capacitors, transformers, PVC-insulated wires,PVC-coated components that were manufactured before 1977 often contain dangerous amountsof polychlorinated biphenyls. Up to thirty-eight separate chemical elements are incorporated intoelectronic waste items. The unsustainability of discarding electronics and computer technology isanother reason for the need to recycle - or perhaps more practically - reuse electronic waste.

Electronic waste processing systems have matured in recent years following increasedregulatory, public, and commercial scrutiny, and a commensurate increase in entrepreneurialinterest. Part of this evolution has involved greater diversion of electronic waste from energy

intensive, down-cycling processes (e.g., conventional recycling) where equipment is reverted to araw material form. This diversion is achieved through reuse and refurbishing. The environmentaland social benefits of reuse are several: diminished demand for new products and theircommensurate requirement for virgin raw materials (with their own environmental externalities notfactored into the cost of the raw materials) and larger quantities of pure water and electricity forassociated manufacturing, less packaging per unit, availability of technology to wider swaths ofsociety due to greater affordability of products, and diminished use of landfills.

Challenges remain, when materials cannot or will not be reused, conventional recycling ordisposal via landfill often follow. Standards for both approaches vary widely by jurisdiction,whether in developed or developing countries. The complexity of the

various items to be disposed of, cost of environmentally sound recycling systems, and the need

for concerned and concerted action to collect and systematically process equipment are theresources most lacked - though this is changing. Many of the plastics used in electronicequipment contain flame retardants. Generally, halogens are added to the plastic resin, makingthe plastics difficult to recycle.

In developed countries, E-waste processing usually first involves dismantling the equipment intovarious parts - metal frames, power supplies, circuit boards, and plastics - manuallly.Alternatively, material is shredded, and sophisticated expensive equipment separates the variousmetal and plastic fractions, which then are sold to various smelters and/or plastics recyclers.


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A typical electronic waste recycling plant as found in some industrialized countries combines thebest of dismantling for component recovery with increased capacity to process large amounts ofelectronic waste in a cost effective manner. Material is fed into a hopper, which travels up aconveyor belt, and is dropped into the mechanical separator, which is followed by a number ofscreening and granulating machines. The entire recycling machinery is enclosed and employs adust collection system. However, a growing trend in the field of E-waste management is reuse.Reuse is actually preferable to recycling because it extends the life-span of a device. The deviceswill need to be recycled at some point, they say, but by allowing others to purchase these usedelectronics, recycling can be postponed and value gained from use of the device. There is noreason to condemn electronics to recycling if they still have value.

Trends in Disposal & Recycling

As the price of gold, silver and copper continue to rise, E-waste has become more desirable. E-waste round-ups are used as fund raisers in some communities. In the 1990s, some Europeancountries banned the disposal of electronic waste in landfills. This created an E-waste processingindustry in Europe. The European Union further advanced E-waste policy by implementing theWaste Electrical & Electronic Equipment Directive in 2002, which holds manufacturersresponsible for E-waste disposal at the end-of-life.

Similar legislation has been enacted in Asia, with E-waste legislation in the United States limitedto the state-level due to stalled efforts in the United States Congress regarding multiple E-wastelegislation bills. In the meantime, several states have

passed their own laws regarding electronic waste management. California was the first state toenact such legislation, followed by Maryland, Maine, Washington and Minnesota. More recently,

legislatures in Oregon and Texas passed their own laws.

Due to the difficulty and cost of recycling used electronics as well as lack-lustre enforcement oflegislation regarding e-waste exports, large amounts of used electronics have been sent tocountries such as China, India, and Kenya, where lower environmental standards and workingconditions make processing e-waste more profitable.

In Switzerland, the first electronic waste recycling system was implemented in 1991 beginningwith collection of old refrigerators. Over the years, all other electric and electronic devices weregradually added to the system. Legislation followed in 1998, and since January 2005, it has beenpossible to return all electronic waste to the sales points and other collection points free ofcharge. There are two established PROs (Producer Responsibility Organizations): SWICO mainlyhandling electronic waste, and SENS mainly responsible for electrical appliances. The totalamount of recycled electronic waste exceeds 10 kg per capita per year.

The European Union has implemented a similar system under the Waste Electrical & ElectronicEquipment Directive, which has now been transposed in national laws in all member countries ofthe European Union. The WEEE directive was designed to make equipment manufacturersfinancially or physically responsible for their equipment at their end-of-life under a policy known

as Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR). EPR was seen as a useful policy as it internalizedthe end-of-life costs and provided a competitive incentive for companies to design equipment withless costs and liabilities when it reached its end-of-life.

However, the application of the WEEE directive has been criticized for implementing the EPRconcept in a collective manner and thereby losing the competitive incentive of individualmanufacturers to be rewarded for their green design. The electronics manufacturers becamefinancially responsible for compliance to the WEEE directive since August 2005 vide which every


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country has to recycle at least 4 kg of E-waste per capita per year by the end of 2006 - and withone or two years' lag for the new EU members.

Recently, some states in the US developed policies banning CRTs from landfills due to the fearthat the heavy metals contained in the glass would eventually leach into ground-water. Circuitboards also contain considerable quantities of lead-tin solders

and are even more likely to leach into ground-water or become air pollution if managed in anincinerator. Indeed, a policy of "diversion from landfill" has been the driver for legislation in many

states requiring higher and higher volumes of E-waste to be collected and processed separatelyfrom the solid waste stream.

Today, the E-waste recycling business is a big and rapidly consolidating business. Unfortunately,increased regulation of E-waste and concern over the environmental harm, which can result fromtoxic E-waste, has raised disposal costs. This has had the unforeseen effect of providing brokersand others calling themselves recyclers with an incentive to export the E-waste to developingcountries. This form of toxic trade was first exposed by the Basel Action Network (BAN) in their2002 report and film entitled "Exporting Harm: The High-Tech Trashing of Asia".

Exporting Harm placed a spotlight on the global dumping of electronic waste, primarily from NorthAmerica in a township area of China known as Guiyu. To this day in Guiyu, thousands of men,women and children are employed, in highly polluting, primitive recycling technologies, extractingthe metals, toners, and plastics from computers and other E-waste. United States has not ratifiedthe Basel Convention or the Basel Ban Amendment, and has no domestic laws forbidding theexport of toxic waste. According to BAN estimates, about 80 per cent of the E-waste directed torecycling in the US does not get recycled there at all, but is put on container ships and sent tocountries such as China.

Exporting E-toxic wastes to third world countries could be quite embarrassing but convenientsolution for USA and Canada. Very simple rationale: Easy to smuggle the sources of wastes andutter, "Unexplained Losses"; Cost of transporting is meager to the costs / risks in living with toxicpollutants; Could keep its Landfills toxic-waste-free and meeting the US-EPA clean-up and health

standards. The export is done under the banner of "Recycling E-Waste" technology as a trend-setting environ-trade. Recycling needs to be done at high-cost under protective conditions, that itdoesn't impair the health/environ conditions of the recycler. But the third world country recyclersare just happy enough to do 'any' Foreign-Based Business. It's easy for them to eyewash theirgovernments and do things as carelessly as possible. Apparently, they waive-off the standards ofrecycling-technology and pollute themselves.

From 2004, the State of California introduced a Electronic Waste Recycling Fee on all newmonitors and televisions sold to cover the cost of recycling, which was adjusted on July 1, 2005 inorder to match the real cost of recycling. The amount of the fee

depends on the size of the monitor. Canada has also begun to take responsibility for electronicsrecycling by introducng a fee similar to that of California to the cost of purchasing new

televisions, computers, and computer components in British Columbia with effect from August2007. The new legislation made recycling mandatory for all of those products.

The European Union, South Korea, Japan and Taiwan have already demanded that sellers andmanufacturers of electronics be responsible for recycling 75 per cent of them.

Many Asian countries have legislated, or will do so, for electronic waste recycling. The UnitedStates Congress is considering a number of electronic waste bills including the National


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Computer Recycling Act, which has continually stalled. Meanwhile, several states have passedtheir own laws regarding electronic waste management.

It's an astonishing number that will send millions of pounds of lead to landfills or overseas. Non-digital TVs contain up to eight pounds of lead, which is a potent neurotoxin. While new digital flatscreen TVs don't have lead, they do contain mercury, another neurotoxin. "It's no longer illegal in

the US to export E-waste (electronic waste) to developing countries. Changes in rules andregulations in recent years to the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, administered by theUS Environmental Protection Agency, have created an appalling system that makes it easy todump E-waste on the developing world." The act states that exports of hazardous waste can onlygo forward after the receiving country has officially agreed to accept it.

However, loop-holes and exemptions mean hardly any E-waste is considered hazardous and is,therefore, legal for export without informing recipient countries. Just recently, changes by theBush Administration allows computer monitors and TVs that all contain mercury and lead to beexported as long as they are going for recycling. Despite being the largest producer of E-waste,the US has refused to sign the international Basel Convention to prevent the transfer ofhazardous waste from developed to developing countries.

The Take Back Sevice

Even as India heads for a looming E-waste crisis, most of the global electronic brands have nofunctioning E-waste take-back

services in India. Greenpeace examined the policy-and-practice on E-waste take-back offeredby 20 E-brands in India, and found that only one global brand (Acer) and two India brands (HCL

and Wipro) have take-back services in India. HCL and WIPRO are ahead of most of theircounterparts in implementing their take-back service on the ground, even in the absence oflegislation.

According to Greenpeace, big brands like Nokia, LG Electronics and Motorola are still not able tomake their take back service in India fully operational. Many of these brands are providing a

voluntary take-back service in other countries. HP, along with Dell and Lenovo, is involved ingreen-wash, as their take-back service is completely non-existent on ground. With the exceptionof two brands (Acer and HCL), no other brand has come out with a publicly on the issue ofsupporting E-waste legislation in India.

The findings of Greenpeace study are absolutely shocking. It seems that E-waste take-back inIndia is in no way a priority for global brands; otherwise, how can one explain the irresponsibleconduct of brands like Sony, Sony Ericsson, Toshiba, Samsung and Philips, which have no take-back service in India whatsoever? Legislation embracing Producer Responsibility for E-waste isalready in force in the EU, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and some US states. Responsible companiesare expected to treat all their customers globally in the same way and offer take-back andrecycling services wherever their products are sold - not just in countries where this is a legalrequirement. Those brands, which have no policy for take-back in India, must immediately

announce such service without any lapse. And those brands whose take-back service is notworking on the ground need to tighten the noose. These measures need to be backed by policybased on IPR (Individual Producer Responsibility) that provides for the entire life cycles of aproduct.

To get around this problem, collection targets are needed. WEEE Directive sets collection,recycling and recovery targets for all types of electrical goods and makes manufacturersresponsible for disposal. The collection rate are of around 60 per cent for small appliances like


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MP3 players and hair-dryers, as well as for medium-sized audio equipment, microwaves andtelevisions, and 75 per cent for large appliances like refrigerators and washing machines.

There are major environmental benefits in collecting 75 per cent of old refrigerators which containchlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) - a chemical that eats away the ozone layer, and is a highly potentgreenhouse gas. Achieving that target would save the

equivalent of roughly 34 million tonne of CO2 from entering the atmosphere. Considered thebest E-waste programme in the world, it's not working all that well. Only about 25 per cent of

Europe's medium-sized household appliances and 40 per cent of larger appliances are collectedfor salvage and recycling. Small appliances, with a few exceptions, are close to zero per cent -the collection rates are very poor in Europe.

People simply aren't aware of the dangers and throw their used goods away. The low collectionrates suit manufacturers quite well because they have much less to recycle. No one is reallyresponsible for collection. Manufacturers say they can't make people bring back their E-waste,and in reality, manufacturers don't want it back because there are costs associated with recycling.And major efforts are needed to increase public awareness of the need to properly recycle E-waste. Manufacturers can figure out how to get us to buy their products, they could find ways to

get us to bring them back. Electronics giant Sony has already agreed and will now take back oldTVs at 75 retail stores free of charge. All major manufacturers and retailers should join Sony onthis.

WeP formulated a Green strategy to enter into recycling of IT Hardware products, and hascommenced this activity through its Long Life IBU where IT consumables like print head, tonercartridges, etc., are being recycled to reduce IT waste in the environment. In addition to this, theyhave entered into an agreement to give their waste only to the Pollution Control Board authorizedE-waste recyclers in India. WeP has also an advantage of taking a lead in E-waste managementand, hence, can distinguish itself as a responsible player in the market. Apart from internalinitiatives ensuring safe E-waste management practices, WeP launched Bangalore wide citizensprogramme in April last year. An awareness campaign was started henceforth targeting citizens,corporation and schools. This is a simplistic set-up of special collection centers across the city to

institutionalize segregation and collection of compact discs, floppy discs and dry cell batteries.

Although the initiative started as a network of 10 centers placed at prominent shopping areas inthe city, they have around 150 collection centers in schools, colleges, offices, apartments andcommercial establishments in Bangalore. They have received an encouraging responsethroughout the year and are committed towards an eco-friendly, financially-viable and socially-acceptable E-waste management system for Bangalore.

WeP has been exporting its Printers to European market since 2001 and has been in the fore-front of conformance with RoHS (Restrict the use of Hazardous Substance) - an EnvironmentalLegislations adopted by the EU. WeP has proactively taken up this

initiative - with a commitment to extent the programme to all products manufactured by WeP -

without any regulatory pressure, as there is no similar mandatory provision in Indian laws.

The objective was very clear: Creating Environmental Values amongst the Leaders of Tomorrow.

Legislative Framework

Environment protection and its preservation is today the major concern all over the world. Theenvironment proves that all the human activities are inter-connected. An environmental damagewithin the boundaries of one state has trans-border ramifications. While the scientific and


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in the second-hand market. The increasingly short life-span of the electrical or electronic deviceseither by choice or by design results in huge waste of natural resources and the same can beavoided by extending the useful life-span. There is definite need to create public awareness onthe subject and to make them also aware about not dumping the E-waste with other types ofwaste.

The Energy Research Institute is responsible for kick-starting a program that lays outorganizational procedures for E-waste recycling in partnership with various non-governmentalorganizations, independent bodies and governmental bodies, including the

Indian Ministry of Environment & Forests as well as the Central Pollution Control Board. Theexisting provisions and initiatives of Indian government are not sufficient to curb the menace of

e-waste in India. India needs to consider this issue seriously and must enact laws in conformitywith the requirements of the present society. Harmonization of the issues of ecology and adevelopmental need of the society is need of the hour. On one hand, we must encash thebenefits of information technology, whereas on the other hand, we must have in place a strongand safe E-waste disposal and management system in India. Ignoring either of them is not a wiseoption.

India must concentrate upon the model of 'sustainable development' where the conflictinginterests of societal development and environmental degradation are reconciled for the commonbetterment of the society. No doubt, the task is difficult, but the need of E-waste regulation andmanagement in India is more pressing. Therefore, all our actions should be guided by sustainabledevelopment principle which has been very aptly defined in the World Commission onEnvironment & Development (WCED) Report commonly known as Brundtland Report of 1987 asdevelopment that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of futuregeneration to meet their own needs.

The imperatives of the scenario demand that the Government should promulgate an all-embracing national E-waste management law, and an all-encompassing policy thereunder, forsubstituting the existing Hazardous Waste (Management & Handling) Rules 2003. Initiate theprocess for complete national level assessment, covering all the cities and all the sectors. Such

baseline study must envelope inventories, existing technical and policy measures required foremergence of national E-waste policy / strategy and action plan for eco-friendly, economic E-waste management. The study should also culminate in identifying potentially harmful substancesand testing them for adverse health and environmental effects for suggesting precautionarymeasures.

Create a public-private participatory forum of decision making, problem resolution in E-wastemanagement comprising Regulatory Agencies, NGOs, Industry Associations, experts, etc., tokeep pace with the temporal and spatial changes in structure and content of E-waste. Createknowledge data base on end of useful life determination, anticipating the risks, ways ofpreventing and protecting from likely damage and safe and timely disposal of E-waste.

Information, Education & Communication (IEC) activities in schools, colleges, and industry, etc.,

are promoted to enhance the knowledge base on E-waste management using the PPP mode.Creation of database on best global practices and failure analyses for

development and deployment of efficacious E-waste management and disposal practices withinthe country be adopted.

Device ways and means to encourage beneficial reuse / recycling of E-waste, catalyzingbusiness activities that use E-waste. Formulate and regulate occupational health safety norms forthe E-waste recycling, now mainly confined to the informal sector. Review the trade policy and


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exim classification codes to plug the loop-holes often being misused for cross-border dumping ofE-waste into India.

Insist on stringent enforcement against wanton infringement of Basel Convention and E-wastedumping by preferring incarceration over monetary penalties for demonstrating deterrent impact.Foster partnership with manufacturers and retailers for recycling services by creating an enabling

environment so as to dispose E-waste scientifically at economic costs. Mandate sustainedcapacity building for industrial E-waste handling for policy-makers, managers, controllers andoperators.

Enhance consumer awareness regarding the potential threat to public health and environment byelectronic products, if not disposed properly. Enforce labeling of all computer monitors, televisionsets and other household / industrial electronic devices for declaration of hazardous materialcontents with a view to identifying environmental hazards and ensuring proper materialmanagement and E-waste disposal.

Announce incentives for growth of E-waste disposal agencies so that remediation ofenvironmental damage, threats of irreversible loss, and lack of scientific knowledge do not anymore pose hazards to human health and environment. Simultaneously, as a proactive step,

municipal bodies must be involved in the disposal of E-waste at least before it becomes too latefor their intervention, should large handling volumes necessitate it. Consider gradual introductionof enhanced producer responsibility into Indian process, practices and procedures so thatpreventive accountability gains preponderance over polluter immunity.

An ideal thing is: Innovate smart eco-friendly materials for chips and processors. That leads thefuture legacy of greener-high-tech revolution.

List of Substances Contained in Electronic Waste

Substances in BulkEpoxy resins, fibre glass, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), andthermosetting plastics.

Elements in BulkLead, tin, copper, silicon, beryllium, carbon, iron and aluminium.

Elements in Small AmountsCadmium, mercury, thallium.

Elements in Trace AmountsAmericium, antimony, arsenic, barium, bismuth, boron, cobalt, europium, gallium, germanium,gold, indium, lithium, manganese, nickel, niobium, palladium, platinum, rhodium, ruthenium,selenium, silver, tantalum, terbium, thorium, titanium, vanadium, and yttrium.

Annexure 2

Environmental & Health Hazards of WEEE

Material Main Application Environmental & Heath Impacts

Plastic such asPVC Cabling

Computer housing, hand-sets andmobile phone accessories

When burnt, releases dioxins that can becarcinogenic.

LeadCircuit boards and othercomponents

High toxic effects on plants and animals.Damages nervous system.


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CadmiumSMD chip resistors, infrareddetectors, batteries, pigments

Can leach into ground-water. Long termexposure can result in kidney damage.Potential carcinogen.

MercurySensors and switches on printedcircuit boards, backlights for LCDdisplays / monitors

Highly toxic and can cause brain damagein foetuses.

managing e-waste indian perspective

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