Eew!

E-waste piles up in our technology driven world

Sruthisagar Yamunan EXpress New Service - CHENNAI 06th June 2012 09:48 AM

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As 90 per cent of discarded computers from the developed world is exported to China, Ghana, Pakistan and India, scientific disposal of this waste is a pressing issue | EPS Most of us often face a situation where the cellphone we use becomes obsolete thanks to a newer technology emerging. When we give in to this, how many of us really worry about what happens to the older gadget? More often than not, such electronic waste is thrown into dustbins. This problem of e-waste generation and its subsequent disposal is now seen as a global occurrence. The United Nations Environment Programme states that 50 million metric tonnes of e-waste are generated worldwide every year. Other surveys suggest that there will be 10 million tonnes increase in total e-waste generation by 2015 given the penchant to upgrade computers, phones and TVs regularly. The average life span of gadgets is also coming down because of higher purchasing power and access to better technology. For example, the average lifespan of a television is estimated to have dropped below 10 years in rapidly developing countries like India whereas it was 15 years at the end of the 20th century. Developing countries such as India have just woken up to the menace of e-waste generation. The Central Pollution Control Board indicate that in India, 8 lakh tonnes of e-waste will be generated by December. 65 cities in India generate more than 60 per cent of the total e-waste, 70 per cent of which comes from 10 states, including Tamil Nadu, which is currently the second largest producer of e-waste in the country. According to MAIT, the major representative of the hardware industry in India, sales of personal computer units will increase by 12.6 million during 2011-12.

Toxicslink, an environmental NGO, states that there are 851 million cellphone users currently in India according to TRAI estimation. While disposal of waste is a major issue, scientists have often pointed out that the failure to manage ewaste in a scientific manner can have several ill-effects because toxic components such as mercury form part of the gadgets. And, India continues to be an important destination for dumping e-waste. A recent UN Waste Management Report says that more than 90 per cent of discarded computers from the developed world are exported to developing countries such as China, Ghana, Pakistan, and India, purportedly for recycling. Over 95 per cent of all electronic waste is currently being handled by the unorganised sector, where safety regulations are hardly met, says the IT department. The magnitude of the problem forced the Central government to come up with an e-waste management policy two years ago, the rules of which were notified and implemented in May 2012. The new rules state that, the onus of proper disposal of e-waste now falls on the manufacturers, who are expected to establish a mechanism to recover obsolete environment gadgets from the customers. These recovered products are to be diverted to recycling units to ensure proper disposal. While the policy was framed two years ago, NGOs argue that major hardware manufacturers are yet to establish collection centres which can be utilised by the people to discard the waste. Most States in India, including Tamil Nadu, have just one or two e-waste recyclers which are grossly inadequate to deal with the colossal amount of waste generated. Environmentalists suggest that companies can be encouraged to outsource the work of waste collection to the already existing scrap dealers. But the idea seems to have very few takers. They are also of the view that the biggest issue in implementing the rules is to spread awareness about the need for scientific disposal of e-waste. Such campaigns have been few and slow.