Part-1
Electronic waste or e-waste is one of the rapidly growing problems of the world. E-waste comprises a multitude of components, some containing toxic substances that can have an adverse impact on human health and the environment if not handled properly. In India, e-waste management assumes greater significance not only due to the generation of its own e-waste but also because of the dumping of e-waste from developed countries. This is coupled with Indias lack of appropriate infrastructure and procedures for its disposal and recycling. This review article provides a concise overview of Indias current e-waste scenario, namely magnitude of the problem, environmental and health hazards, current disposal and recycling operations, existing legal framework, organizations working on this issue and recommendations for action.
INTRODUCTION
The production of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) is one of the fastest growing global manufacturing activities. Rapid economic growth, coupled with urbanization and a growing demand for consumer goods, has increased both the consumption and the production of EEE. The Indian information technology (IT) industry has been one of the major drivers of change in the economy in the last decade and has contributed significantly to the digital revolution being experienced by the world. New electronic gadgets and appliances have infiltrated every aspect of our daily lives, providing our society with more comfort, health and security and with easy information acquisition and exchange. The knowledge society however is creating its own toxic footprints.
The same hyper technology that is hailed as a crucial vector for future modern societal development has a not-so-modern downside to it: electronic waste (e-waste).
E-waste broadly covers waste from all electronic and electrical appliances and comprises items such as computers, mobile phones, digital music recorders/players, refrigerators, washing machines, televisions (TVs) and many other household consumer items.
The increasing market penetration in the developing countries, replacement market in the developed countries and high obsolescence rate make e-waste one of the fastest waste streams. This new kind of waste is posing a serious challenge in disposal and recycling to both developed and developing countries. While having some of the worlds most advanced high-tech software and hardware developing facilities, Indias recycling sector can be called medieval. The dumping of e-waste, particularly computer waste, into India from developed countries (green passport according to Gutierrez), because the latter find it convenient and economical to export waste, has further complicated the problems with waste management.
All this has made e-waste management an issue of environment and health concern.
MAGNITUDE OF THE PROBLEM
Studies so far reveal that the total e-waste generation in India is approximately 146,000 tons to 3.3 lakh tons a year and is expected to touch 4.7 lakh tons by 2011. The projected growth for e-waste generation for India is about 34 per cent year on year says Sinha (Associate Director of Toxics Link).
Of the total e-waste generated in the country, western India accounts for the largest population at 35 per cent, while the southern, northern and eastern regions account for 30, 21 and 14 per cent, respectively. The top states in order of highest contribution to waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) include Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Delhi, Karnataka, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Punjab. The city-wise ranking of the largest WEEE generators is Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkatta, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Pune, Surat and Nagpur.
Total WEEE generation in Maharashtra is 20,270.6 tons, of which Navi Mumbai contributes 646.48 tons, Greater Mumbai 11,017.06 tons, Pune 2584.21 tons and Pimpri-Chinchwad 1032.37 tons. An estimated 30,000 computers become obsolete every year from the IT industry in Bangalore alone. Home to more than 1200 foreign and domestic technology firms, Bangalore figures prominently in the danger list of cities faced with e-waste hazard. As many as 1000 tons of plastics, 300 tons of lead, 0.23 tons of mercury, 43 tons of nickel and 350 tons of copper are annually generated in Bangalore. While on the basis of scrap handled by the Delhi-based scrap dealers, their total number of personal computers (PCs) meant for dismantling would be around 15,000 per year. This figure does not include PCs handled by large dealers who get scraps from foreign sources. Mumbai, the financial nerve-center of India, alone throws away 19,000 tons of electronic waste a month, excluding the large e-waste it imports from developed nations through its port.
Besides the domestic e-waste generated, an additional 50,000 MT a year is illegally imported into the country. In a single month, there is a reported case of import of 30 MT of e-waste at the Ahmedabad port.
While northern India is not a leading generator, it happens to be the leading processing center of e-waste in the country. There are only two formal recyclers in the south of India (Chennai and Bangalore) and one in western India. Currently, there are no formal recyclers operating in the north or the east. Over 1 million poor people in India are involved in the manual recycling operations. Most of the people working in this recycling sector are the urban poor with very low literacy levels and hence very little awareness regarding the hazards of e-waste toxins. There are a sizeable number of women and children who are engaged in these activities and they are more vulnerable to the hazards of this waste. A comprehensive study is yet to be made of the health problems of women and children employed by the scrap dealers.
The main sources of computer usage and thereby e-waste generations are the business sector (government departments, public or private sector, multinational corporation offices), accounting for 78 per cent of the total installed PCs today. Other sources are individual households (22 per cent), foreign embassies, PC manufacturing units, PC retailers, secondary markets of old PCs and imported electronic scrap of other countries.
The following three categories of WEEE account for almost 90 per cent of the generation:
1. Large household appliances: 42 per cent,
2. Information and communications technology equipment: 33.9 per cent and
3. Consumer electronics: 13.7 per cent.
WHAT IS E-WASTE?
Electronic waste or e-waste is the term used to describe old, end-of-life electronic appliances such as computers, laptops, TVs, DVD players, mobile phones, mp3 players, etc., which have been disposed by their original users.
E-waste has been categorized into three main categories, i.e., Large Household Appliances, IT and Telecom and Consumer Equipment. Refrigerator and washing machine represent large household appliances; PC, monitor and laptop represent IT and Telecom, while TV represents Consumer Equipment.
Each of these e-waste items has been classified with respect to 26 common components found in them. These components form the building blocks of each item and therefore they are readily identifiable and removable. These components are metal, motor/compressor, cooling, plastic, insulation, glass, LCD, rubber, wiring/electrical, concrete, transformer, magnetron, textile, circuit board, fluorescent lamp, incandescent lamp, heating element, thermostat, brominated flamed retardant (BFR)-containing plastic, batteries, CFC/HCFC/HFC/HC, external electric cables, refractory ceramic fibers, radioactive substances and electrolyte capacitors (over L/D 25 mm).
The composition of WEEE/e-waste is very diverse and differs in products across different categories. It contains more than 1000 different substances, which fall under hazardous and non-hazardous categories. Broadly, it consists of ferrous and non-ferrous metals, plastics, glass, wood and plywood, printed circuit boards, concrete and ceramics, rubber and other items. Iron and steel constitutes about 50 per cent of the WEEE followed by plastics (21 per cent), non-ferrous metals (13 per cent) and other constituents. Non-ferrous metals consist of metals like copper, aluminium and precious metals, e.g. silver, gold, platinum, palladium, etc. The presence of elements like lead, mercury, arsenic, cadmium, selenium and hexavalent chromium and flame retardants beyond threshold quantities in WEEE/e-waste classifies them as hazardous waste.
The electronic and electrical goods are largely classified under three major heads, as: white goods, comprising of household appliances like air conditioners, dishwashers, refrigerators and washing machines; brown goods, comprising of TVs, camcorders, cameras, etc.; grey goods, like computers, printers, fax machines, scanners, etc. The grey goods are comparatively more complex to recycle due to their toxic composition.
– to be continued