15-Dec-2017: The Global E-waste Monitor 2017: quantities, flows, and resources
India generated nearly 1.95 million tonnes of electronic waste last year, of the 44.7 million tonnes produced globally reveals this new report released by the United Nations’ International Telecommunication Union. E-waste includes a whole variety of small and large appliances, and electronic equipment including cell phones, TVs, refrigerators, air conditioners, computers and lamps, small appliance and large appliances, lamps.
Electronic waste poses ‘growing risk’ to environment, human health. The Global E-Waste Monitor 2017 highlights increasing levels of e-waste and its improper and unsafe treatment and disposal through burning or at dumpsites. The growing volume of electronic waste, including discarded products with a battery or plug, such as mobile phones, laptops, televisions, refrigerators and electrical toys, poses a major threat to the environment and human health.
Over 1 million poor people in India are involved in manual recycling operations, but “most of these people have very low literacy levels with little awareness of the dangers of the operations. Severe health impacts and environmental damage are widespread in India, due to the final step of the e-waste processing by the informal sector. The dangers come from “improper and unsafe treatment and disposal through open burning or in dumpsites. The value of recoverable precious materials like gold, silver, copper, platinum and palladium contained in last year’s e-waste was $55 billion and much of it was going to waste.
Environmental protection is one of the three pillars of sustainable development. E-waste management is an urgent issue in today’s digitally dependent world, where use of electronic devices is ever increasing. The Global E-Waste Monitor 2017, released by ITU, the UN University (UNU) and the International Solid Waste Association (ISWA), highlights increasing levels of e-waste and its improper and unsafe treatment and disposal through burning or at dumpsites.
A formal e-waste recycling sector is now being developed in major Indian cities and under the country’s rules producers have extended responsibility for the handling the waste that ultimately results from their products. The main features of the regulations are a refundable deposit scheme that incentivizes recycling and parallel to that is the creation of Producer Responsibility Organisations to handle the waste.
Why it is difficult to manage e waste in India?
The producers/manufacturers do not have adequate information on their website regarding e waste management. Customer care representatives do not have inkling about any take back or recycling programme and even if they have set up collection centres, they are simply not enough for a geographically vast country like India. India being a vast country, setting up collection mechanism is a big challenge. If any of the brands try individually to reach out to all corners of the country, it will economically not be sustainable or feasible. Improper enforcement of the existing laws is another hurdle.