Problem of E-waste

Why in news?

• The recycling industry is urging environment ministry to relax the e-waste collection targets as specified under the e-waste management rules, 2016 stating that the targets are unachievable.
• The targets for collection and recycling were to be implemented from May 2016.

E-waste management rules, 2016

• It had prescribed a waste collection target of 30% of the e-waste generated under EPR (extended producer responsibility) for the first two years (till 2016) and progressively reaching 70% by 2022-23.
• These rules include producers, dealers and Producer Responsibility Organization (PRO) as stake holders.
• These rules have brought producers of electronic goods under “extended producer responsibility”, making them liable for collection and exchange of e-waste with targets.
• Collection is now exclusively Producer’s responsibility , who can set up collection centres or points or can even arrange buy back mechanisms for such collections.
• Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has been implementing the e-waste rules for authorized companies.
• The rules state the average age of various electronic equipments. For example, for smart phones it is 5 years, for printers and cartridges it is 10 years, for refrigerators 10 years, and so on. So all the smart phones, which were sold in 2012, technically become e-waste in 2017, and mobile manufacturers have been mandated to collect 30% of that.
• Compact Fluorescent Lamp (CFL) and other mercury containing lamps have been brought under the purview of rules which were left out by the previous e-waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2011.

What is e-waste?

• e-waste or Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) - is the term used to describe old, end-of-life or discarded appliances using electricity. It includes computers, consumer electronics, fridges etc which have been disposed of by their original users.
• In India, computer devices account for nearly 70% of e-waste, with the contribution of telecom sector being 12%, medical equipment being 8%, and electric equipments being 7% of the annual e-waste generation.
• Arsenic, Barium, Brominated flame- Casing, Cadmium, Chrome , Cobalt, Copper, Lead, Lithium, Mercury, Nickel Alloys, Selenium, Zinc, Steel, Brass alloys etc are some of the pollutants or toxins in the e-waste that can harm human, animal and plant life, if not disposed of scientifically.
• When such e-waste ends up at landfills, they leach chemicals into the soil, contaminating soil and groundwater.

Problems

India is the fifth largest producer of e-waste discarding roughly 18.5 lakh tonnes of e-waste each year.
Urban solid waste management policy has been largely focused on cleaning streets and transferring garbage to landfills, ignoring the legal obligation to segregate and recycle hazardous materials safely.
About 95% of the e-waste in India is handled by the informal sector in a hazardous and environmentally unsafe manner.

Way forward

• It is necessary that the informal e-waste collection system be integrated with the formal channels for proper regulation and monitoring.
• Incentives should be provided to recyclers, producers and consumers as has been done in China which will promote the development of the formal e-waste recycling industry.
• Those handling e-waste should be provided with safety equipments, training and proper health care facilities.
• Maintaining a database of e-waste as done by Norway can also facilitate recovery and recycling.
• With India’s e-waste generation estimated to reach 52 lakh tonnes in 2020, it needs stringent recycling procedures so that majority of the e-waste generated could be recycled properly.

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