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Sunday Reading
New
Delhi, 5 January 2010
Growing
E-Waste
DUMP
PCs, MOBILES RESPONSIBLY
By
Dhurjati Mukherjee
Electronic waste is today the fastest growing
component of municipal waste in the country. There is a tendency now to upgrade
mobile phones, computers and televisions more frequently than ever before. As
these are not properly recycled, they become a health and environmental hazard,
endangering human health.
The United Nations estimated that around 50
million tonnes of electronic waste is generated each year. In India, as per
estimates of the Manufacturers Association of Information Technology (MAIT), a
forum of Indian IT products’ manufacturers, 383,000 tonnes of e-waste were
generated across the country in 2007 which may presently be anything around
500,000 tonnes and is expected to go up to 1.6 million tonnes on the next three
years. Around 60-65 cities generate more than 60 per cent of the total e-waste
in the country. Among the top five e-waste generating cities, Mumbai ranks
first followed by Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai and Kolkata.
The consumption of electronic items continues to
grow apace and e-waste is expected to exceed 470,000 tonnes by 2011. Moreover,
estimates reveal that more than 50,000 tonnes of e-waste is dumped every year,
sometimes in the guise of charity. Most of it ends in informal recycling yards,
where no proper system and standards are maintained.
The need for proper recycling and/or reusing
electronic and electrical equipment waste has become imperative because of the
obvious impact on human health. Let us examine the substances that make up the
e-waste. These are: Lead in
PCBs harms the nervous system, blood and kidneys; Cadmium used in rechargeable computer batteries, contacts and
switches can bio-accumulate in the environment and affect kidneys and bones; Mercury in relays, switches and PCBs
causes chronic damage to brain and skin disorders; Brominated flame retardant
in plastic (used in
mobile phones) disrupts the hormonal system. Barium in front panels of cathode ray tubes causes muscle
weakness ad damages the heart, liver and spleen and Beryllium in motherboard causes lung cancer, warts and its
inhalation causes berylliosis.
In Delhi,
the informal recycling business is estimated to be worth more than Rs 2000 crores
generated mostly from the resale of old computers and metal extracted from ion
chips and PC motherboards. Around 30,000 people are involved in informal
e-waste recycling in India
of which 5000 are in the capital alone. In fact, 90 per cent of e-waste recycling
is carried out in slums around Delhi,
Mumbai Bangalore and other big cities. Only a fraction of the country’s e-waste
gets to recycling companies in the organized sector, which is able to deal with
it in a safe and environment-friendly way. Government directives and
guidelines offer little clarity on proper e-waste disposal.
The informal recycling entails is carried out by
bare hands and by rudimentary techniques without wearing any protective gear
like masks, gloves etc. in the absence of suitable processes and protective
measures, recycling e-waste results toxic emission to the air, water, soil and
poses a serious environmental hazard. Burning of cable wires in the open and
using acid baths for extraction of metals lead to air and water contamination.
Moreover inhaling toxic elements like lead, mercury and cadmium in e-waste
components cause respiratory, carcinogenic and neural diseases, affecting both
children and women. Carcinogenic substances in electronic goods include
polychlorinated biphenynls (PCBs). A typical computer monitor may contain more
than 6 per cent lead by weight, much of which is the lead glass of the CRT.
Incorrect recycling processes such as open air
incineration and/ acid bath for recovery of metals causes irreparable damage to
the environment. As the fact that public at large remain unaware of the toxic
footprints, the informal recycling process continues unabated in the slums and
squatter settlements of big metropolises.
Apart from recycling, landfills used for waste
disposal are prone to leaking and also lead to leaching of heavy metals and
other toxins into the soil which may contaminate not only the soil but also the
water table. Mercury, cadmium and lead, as is well known, are among the most
toxic leachates. Landfills are also prone to uncontrolled fires which can
release toxic fumes in the atmosphere.
Since e-waste or its constituents fall under the
category of ‘hazardous waste’, they are covered by ‘The Hazardous Waste Management Rules 2003’. India is a
signatory to the Basel Convention on the Control of Trans-boundary Movements of
hazardous wastes and their disposal. In April 2008, the Ministry of Environment
& Forests issued ‘Guidelines for Environmentally Sound Management of
E-Waste’ to facilitate the recovery and reuse of useful materials from
waste-generated and to ensure environmentally sound procedures for recycling of
all materials. But these guidelines are not well known and most of the informal
recyclers do not heed the directives.
There are talks of green IT these days though a
lot needs to be done. Various stakeholders including hardware manufacturers,
recyclers dealing with such waste, assemblers of old/used materials, vendors
etc. have to be made aware of the problem and specific measures taken for
implementing legislation already in force, improving the recycling industry
apart from generating awareness about the responsibilities of producers,
manufacturers and even users in this sector.
Internationally, some of the big IT companies
are reported to have taken some steps in this regard. There are reports that
British Telecommunication (BT) has developed a carbon impact assessment
mechanism that enables organizations to accurately calculate the amount of CO2
emissions produced with the use of networked IT services. It allows a number of
business scenarios to be tested and an assessment made of the associated energy
and carbon reductions. Even desktop and laptop manufacturers are trying to
ensure that they reduce their carbon footprint. Already there are many mobile
phones which are eco-friendly and cause less damage.
The link between sustainability and commercial
success is without doubt becoming clearer. India is rapidly becoming a global
centre for information and communications technology development and with this
growth environmental sustainability has to be kept in mind, specially in
relation to e-waste. It is thus necessary that all actions relating to disposal
of e-waste and all other types of hazardous waste have to be guided by sustainable
development principles which have been aptly defined by the World Commission on
Environment & Development (WECD) commonly known as the Bruntland Commission
way back in 1987. ---INFA
(Copyright,
India News and Feature Alliance)
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