E-Waste: Tackling India’s Next Big Waste Problem
With more than 1.8 million tonnes a year, the majority of it from the unorganised sector, India is the fifth largest e-waste producing country in the world Recently, a joint inspection report by Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Union Environment Ministry and Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB) found 27 illegal e-waste industries operational in Uttar Pradesh. These units were dumping the waste into the Ramganga, causing irreparable damage to the river and its surrounding environment. This incident highlights the silent crisis building up in India. The country’s burgeoning population on mobile phones has seen stupendous growth in the last decade. From 310 million subscribers in 2001 to 1.1 billion in 2016, the number of mobile phone users in India is nearly 4 times that of United States today and it is second only to China in the world, which has 1.3 billion subscribers. That is just mobile phones, then there are 57 million computers in use and plethora of other gadgets and consumer electronics. But mass scale use of electronic goods has a huge flip side. India is now in the global list of highest electronic waste generators, posing grave threat to the environment and public alike. Electronic waste or e-waste, as it is popularly known, causes toxic emissions and poses several health hazards.
E-Waste and India
In 2016, India was ranked as the fifth largest generator of electronic waste in the world. A study conducted The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) and KPMG in 2016 ranked India among one of the top five countries in e-waste generation, with an estimated 1.85 million tonnes generated annually. Globally, the number is an astounding 40 to 50 million tonnes annually. India accounts for roughly 4 per cent of e-waste generated annually. The United States ranked first in e-waste generation, generating 11.7 million tonnes of e-waste annually. China ranked second with 6.1 million tonnes of e-waste every year.
The ASSOCHAM-KPMG study, titled “Electronic Waste Management in India’’ identified computer equipment and mobile telephones as the principal e-waste generators in India. According to this study, computers contributed towards 70 per cent of the total e-waste generated in India, while telecommunication equipment accounted for 12 per cent. Among cities, Mumbai topped the list as it generated an estimated 1,20,000 tonnes of e-waste annually. Delhi and Bengaluru ranked second and third, with 98,000 and 92,000 tonnes of e-waste generation respectively.
Recycling E-Waste
Much of the e-waste generated is recyclable. Computer equipment such as monitors and printed circuit boards have a number of base metals which can be reused after melting. Unfortunately, India is highly ill-equipped in terms of both legislation and skilled labour to handle e-waste recycling. Only 1.5 per cent of e-waste generated in India gets recycled. This can be attributed to nearly zero awareness about e-waste and its recycling, as well as the fragmented nature of the unorganised sector and its apathy to waste collection and recycling.
The unorganised sector consists of mostly of shops and industries which engage contract labourers and are dealers of electronic equipment. Old electronic equipment from this sector is often sold to dismantlers. Most of the e-waste generated from this sector is often dumped or dismantled, instead of being recycled properly.
The e-waste recycling industry in India is also ill-equipped to handle recycling. Adequate protective gears like helmets and gloves are rarely provided to e-waste collectors. Knowledge of e-waste recycling is also not prevalent among either organisations or workers, thus allowing them to opt for the easier path of dumping or dismantling the waste.
Certain changes however, are gradually taking shape in the e-waste recycling front. Two Bengaluru based non-profit organisations have collaborated with post offices and Bangalore One to set up e-waste collection units at their premises. Saahas, a Bengaluru based NGO has also started an awareness programme across schools, colleges, hospitals and offices along with door-to-door e-waste collection to educate people more about the harms of e-waste and its recycling procedures. In Mumbai, wards began collecting e-waste from educational institutes from Dadar to Mahim and sending the waste to recycling plants.
