E-Waste Management and Challenges in India

Abstract

Introduction

I. INTRODUCTION

E-waste is the end-of-life electronic and electrical gadgets. As a consequence of increase in production, combined with rapid product obsolescence and lower costs, discarded electronic and electrical equipments or ‘e-waste’ is now the most rapidly growing waste problem in the world. In India, e-waste is primarily recycled by people in the informal sector. Yet, insufficient and poor working conditions in addition to low environmental standards endanger people and the environment alike. In the last few years, since e-waste has been discovered as a resource by the formal world, globally e-waste recycling is emerging as a lucrative business with many large and small players competing for this waste pile. The E-waste (Management & Handling Rules) that came in 2012 in India requires only authorized people to handle e-waste and emphasizes on clean channel for e-waste flow. This has led to the growth of formal recycling. The shift of waste to clean channel is important considering the environmental and health impacts. But the formalization of e-waste recycling may render thousands of workers who earn their livelihood by collecting and processing e-waste, unemployed. However, this may not be a loss just for the informal sector, as the whole recycling chain will stand to lose. The informal sector has great collection skills and strong networks which help it in procuring e-waste, especially from small and peripheral sources. But their primitive methods of recycling are hazardous for their health and environment. The formal recyclers though not very efficient like the informal recyclers in collection are capable of recycling using the Best Available Technologies (BAT) leading to better environment management and enhanced resource recovery practices. A mutual support system that will provide a balance between the cheap labor intensive operations in the informal sector and the sophisticated mechanized operations in the formal recycling units is thus needed. Hence it is important to look at the possibilities of integrating the informal sector in the emerging regulated system for sustainable e-waste management.

II. AWARENESS ABOUT E-WASTE

Effective communication between waste management organizations and citizens is essential to the efficient operation of waste management services. Citizens need to know what services are available to them, and the schedule and requirements of that service, in order for those services to be efficiently used. Citizens are also more likely to undertake waste sorting and recycling activities if they know what happens to waste that is sent for recycling, and the associated environmental benefits.

An effective way to improve attitudes towards waste reuse and recycling is to integrate waste management education into school curriculum and particularly teaching children about the causes and consequences of waste disposal and highlighting the importance of waste prevention, reuse and recycling. Local authorities and/or waste management organizations can facilitate this by undertaking outreach activities, sending representatives to local schools or inviting schoolchildren to facility tours or open days, etc. Best practice in awareness-raising is to effectively encourage waste prevention, reuse and recycling behavior within the waste collection catchment area. Ultimately, this should translate into improved performance across key waste generation and separation indicators. Particular emphasis is placed  on  reaching  all  stakeholders,  including  non-native  speakers via multilingual or pictorial communication ad via school activities. Best practices for awareness-raising campaigns need to:

1. ensure continuity, consistency, complementarily and clarity of all communications with well-defined aims and objectives
2. create clear messages appropriate to, and directed at, well-defined target audiences
3. ensure efficient delivery through the integration of activities and clear lines of responsibility.

III. E-WASTE GENERATION

This year’s Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) is total about

57.4 million tonnes (MT) and will be greater than the weight of the Great Wall of China, Earth’s heaviest artificial object. According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), India generated more than 10 lakh tonnes of e-waste in 2019-20, an increase from 7 lakh tonnes in 2017-18. Against this, the e-waste dismantling capacity has not been increased from 7.82 lakh tonnes since 2017-18.

IV. CHALLENGES RELATED TO MANAGEMENT OF E-WASTE IN INDIA

1. Less Involvement of People: A key factor in used electronic devices not being given for recycling was because consumers themselves did not do so. However, in recent years, countries around the world have been attempting to pass effective ‘right to repair’ laws.
2. Involvement of Child Labor: In India, about 4.5 lakh child laborers in the age group of 10-14 are observed to be engaged in various E-waste activities and that too without adequate protection and safeguards in various yards and recycling workshops.
3. Ineffective Legislation: There is absence of any public information on most State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs)/PCC websites.
4. Health hazards: E-waste contains over 1,000 toxic materials, which contaminate soil and groundwater.
5. Lack of Incentive Schemes: No clear guidelines are there for the unorganized sector to handle E-waste. Also, no incentives are mentioned to lure people engaged to adopt a formal path for handling E-waste.
6. E-waste Imports: Cross-border flow of waste equipment into India- 80% of E-waste in developed countries meant for recycling is sent to developing countries such as India, China, Ghana and Nigeria.
7. Security Implications: End of life computers often contain sensitive personal information and bank account details which, if not deleted leave opportunity for fraud.

V. POLLUTANTS IN E-WASTE

Pollutants or toxins in e-waste are typically concentrated in circuit boards, batteries, plastics, and LCDs (liquid crystal displays). Given below is a table showing the major pollutants occurring in waste electrical and electronic equipments:

Pollutants and Their Occurrence in Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment

VI. IMPACT OF HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES ON HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT

Listed in the table below are the harmful elements in the compositions of electrical and electronic appliances that can be hazardous to health and environment:

Conclusion

The hazardous nature of e-waste is one of the rapidly growing environmental problems of the world. The ever-increasing amount of e-waste associated with the lack of awareness and appropriate skill is deepening the problem. A large number of workers are involved in crude dismantling of these electronic items for their livelihood and their health is at risk; therefore, there is an urgent need to plan a preventive strategy in relation to health hazards of e-waste handling among these workers in India. Required information should be provided to these workers regarding safe handling of e-waste and personal protection. For e-waste management many technical solutions are available, but to be adopted in the management system, prerequisite conditions such as legislation, collection system, logistics, and manpower should be prepared. This may require operational research and evaluation studies.

Copyright

Copyright © 2022 Dr. Vikas Kumar. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.