E-waste management

 E-waste  Management

Introduction:

       Electronic waste or e-waste is generated when electronic and electrical equipment become unfit for their originally intended use or have crossed the expiry date. Computers, servers, mainframes, monitors, compact discs (CDs), printers, scanners, copiers, calculators, fax machines, battery cells, cellular phones, transceivers, TVs, iPods, medical apparatus, washing machines, refrigerators, and air conditioners are examples of e-waste (when unfit for use). These electronic equipment's get fast replaced with newer models due to the rapid technology advancements and production of newer electronic equipment. This has led to an exponential increase in e-waste generation. People tend to switch over to the newer models and the life of products has also decreased.

E-waste typically consists of metals, plastics, cathode ray tubes (CRTs), printed circuit boards, cables, and so on. Valuable metals such as copper, silver, gold, and platinum could be recovered from e-wastes, if they are scientifically processed. The presence of toxic substances such as liquid crystal, lithium, mercury, nickel, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), selenium, arsenic, barium, brominated flame retardants, cadmium, chrome, cobalt, copper, and lead, makes it very hazardous, if e-waste is dismantled and processed in a crude manner with rudimentary techniques. E-waste poses a huge risk to humans, animals, and the environment. The presence of heavy metals and highly toxic substances such as mercury, lead, beryllium, and cadmium pose a significant threat to the environment even in minute quantities.

Current Status of E-Waste Management:

For the recycling of e-waste, India heavily depends on the unorganized sector as only a handful of organized e-waste recycling facilities are available. Over 95% of the e-waste is treated and processed in the majority of urban slums of the country, where untrained workers carry out the dangerous procedures without personal protective equipment, which are detrimental not only to their health but also to the environment.Recycling and treatment facilities require a high initial investment, particularly those fitted with technologically advanced equipment's and processes. For the dismantling of one computer piece, these workers only get Rs. 5 or 10. For such a small amount, workers ruin their lives. Such “backyard recyclers” do not have wastewater treatment facilities, exhaust-waste gas treatment, and personal health protection equipment's .Williams observed that despite significant attention from the media and enactment of some national level trade bans (most notably, China and India), the problem is apparently worsening. Therefore, health risk assessments are also required for the analysis of the consequences and of inappropriate management of end-of-life electronic wastes in developing countries.

Global E-Waste Problem:

Each year, the total amount of electric and electronic equipment the world uses grows by 2.5 million tonnes. Phones, radios, toys, laptops – if it has a power or battery supply it’s likely to join a growing mountain of “e-waste” after use. In 2019 alone, the world generated 53.6 million tonnes of e-waste. That’s about 7.3 kilograms per person and equivalent in weight to 350 cruise ships. Asia produced  24.9 million tonnes  and followed by the Americas (13.1 million tonnes) and Europe (12 million tonnes), while Africa and Oceania generated 2.9 and 0.7 million tonnes respectively. By 2030, the global total is likely to swell to 74.7 million tonnes, almost a doubling of the annual amount of new e-waste in just 16 years. This makes it the world’s fastest growing domestic waste stream, fuelled mainly by more people buying electronic products with shorter life cycles and fewer options for repair.These products can help improve living standards, and it’s good that more and more people can afford them. But growing global demand is outpacing our capacity to recycle or dispose of electronic products safely. Once they’re obsolete and discarded, these products can end up accumulating in the environment, polluting habitats and harming people and wildlife.

E-Waste Problem in India:

India ranks 177 amongst 180 countries and is amongst the bottom five countries on the Environmental Performance Index 2018, as per a report released at the World Economic Forum 2018. This was linked to poor performance in the environment health policy and deaths due to air pollution categories. Also, India is ranked fifth in the world amongst top e-waste producing countries after the USA, China, Japan, and Germany and recycles less than 2 per cent of the total e-waste it produces annually formally. Since 2018, India generates more than two million tonnes of e-waste annually, and also imports huge amounts of e-waste from other countries around the world. Dumping in open dumpsites is a common sight which gives rise to issues such as groundwater contamination, poor health, and more. The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) and KPMG study, Electronic Waste Management in India identified that computer equipment account for almost 70 per cent of e-waste, followed by telecommunication equipment phones (12 per cent), electrical equipment (8 per cent), and medical equipment (7 per cent) with remaining from household e-waste.

E-waste collection, transportation, processing, and recycling is dominated by the informal sector. The sector is well networked and unregulated. Often, all the materials and value that could be potentially recovered is not recovered. In addition, there are serious issues regarding leakages of toxins into the environment and workers’ safety and health.

Solapur in Delhi is the largest e-waste dismantling center of India. Adults as well as children spend 8–10 hours daily extracting reusable components and precious metals like copper, gold and various functional parts from the devices. E-waste recyclers use processes such as open incineration and acid-leeching. This situation could be improved by creating awareness and improving the infrastructure of recycling units along with the prevalent policies. The majority of the e-waste collected in India is managed by an unorganized sector.

Impact of Recycling E-Waste in Developing World:

Almost all e-wastes contain some form of recyclable material, including plastic, glass, and metals; however, due to improper disposal methods and techniques these materials cannot be retrieved for other purposes. If e-waste is dismantled and processed in a crude manner, its toxic constituents can wreak havoc on the human body. Processes such as dismantling components, wet chemical processing, and incineration are used to dispose the waste and result in direct exposure and inhalation of harmful chemicals. Safety equipment such as gloves and face masks are not widely used, and workers often lack the knowledge and experience required to carry out their jobs properly. In addition to this, manual extraction of toxic metals leads to entering of dangerous material in the bloodstream of the individual doing so. The health hazards range from kidney and liver damage to neurological disorders. Recycling of e-waste scrap is polluting the water, soil, and the air. Burning to retrieve metal from wires and cables has led to the emission of brominated and chlorinated dioxins as well as carcinogens which pollute the air and, thereby, cause cancer in humans and animals. Toxic chemicals that have no economic value are simply dumped during the recycling process. These toxic chemicals leach into underground aquifer thereby degrading the local groundwater quality and rendering the water unfit for human consumption as well as agricultural purposes. When e-waste is dumped in landfills, the lead, mercury, cadmium, arsenic, and PCBs make the soil toxic and unfit for agricultural purposes. Very recent studies on recycling of e-waste has pointed towards increasing concentrations of PCBs, dioxins and furans, plasticizers, bisphenol-A (BPA), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), and heavy metals in the surface soil of the four metro cities of India, that is, New Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, and Chennai where e-waste is being processed by the informal sectors (Chakraborty et al., 2018 and 2019). In those studies, it has been observed that the sites engaged in metal recovery processes are the prime sites for such persistent toxic substances. Studies from the same group also reported that the persistent organic pollutants produced or released during the recycling process are escaping in the ambient air due to their semi-volatile nature.

Opportunities of E-Waste Management in India:

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change rolled out the E-Waste (Management) Rules in 2016 to reduce e-waste production and increase recycling. Under these rules, the government introduced EPR which makes producers liable to collect 30 per cent to 70 per cent (over seven years) of the e-waste they produce, said the study.

The integration of the informal sector into a transparent recycling system is crucial for a better control on environmental and human health impacts. There have been some attempts towards integrating the existing informal sector in the emerging scenario. Organizations such as GIZ have developed alternative business models in guiding the informal sector association towards authorization. These business models promote a city-wide collection system feeding the manual dismantling facility and a strategy towards best available technology facilities to yield higher revenue from printed circuit boards. By replacing the traditional wet chemical leaching process for the recovery of gold with the export to integrated smelters and refineries, safer practices and a higher revenue per unit of e-waste collected are generated.

E-waste is a rich source of metals such as gold, silver, and copper, which can be recovered and brought back into the production cycle. There is significant economic potential in the efficient recovery of valuable materials in e-waste and can provide income-generating opportunities for both individuals and enterprises. The E-Waste Management Rules, 2016 were amended by the government in March 2018 to facilitate and effectively implement the environmentally sound management of e-waste in India. The amended Rules revise the collection targets under the provision of EPR with effect from October 1, 2017. By way of revised targets and monitoring under the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), effective and improved management of e-waste would be ensured.

How Can Governments and Citizens Help:

 The ASSOCHAM report (2017) suggests that the government may look at collaborating with the industry to draw out formal/standard operating procedures and a phased approach towards the agenda of reducing e-wastes to the lowest. 

Considering the adverse impacts caused by untreated e-waste on land, water, and air; the government should encourage the new entrepreneurs by providing the necessary financial support and technological guidance. Establishment of start-ups connected with e-waste recycling and disposal should be encouraged by giving special concessions. The unorganized sector has a well-established collection network. But it is capital-intensive in case of organized sector. Therefore, if both the sectors coordinate and work in a harmonious manner, the materials collected by the unorganized sector may be handed over to the organized sector to be processed in an environment-friendly way. In this kind of scenario, the government can play a crucial role between the two sectors for successful processing of the e-waste. It is high time that the government takes a proactive initiative to recycle and dispose of e-waste safely to protect the environment and ensure the well-being of the general public and other living organisms.

The principle of EPR is increasingly being applied for management of e-waste across many countries, and its relative effectiveness and success has been demonstrated in EU countries. Instruments for implementation of EPR can be a mix of economic, regulatory, and voluntary/informational. While producers are responsible for e-waste management (EPR), consumers, retailers, state governments, municipalities, NGOs, CSOs, Self-Help Groups (SHGs), local collection agencies such as extracarbon.com and others should play an appropriate role in collection, facilitation, and creation of infrastructure to make e-waste management a success.

At present, Design for Environment (DfE) is attracting much attention in the world as a new method to solve environmental pollution. DfE principle in the product design is a process to significantly reduce the environmental impact of products being put into the market. It is often seen that the robust rules in India are ineffective due to slack implementation.

The citizens have a very important role to play in e-waste management. We casually throw many small gadgets along with dumped waste and many people openly burn those accumulated waste. A number of hazardous substances such as dioxins and furans are released in the process which we breathe. This is a very unhealthy practice, which we should immediately stop. Some of the very progressive Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) have separate bins clearly marked for collecting e-wastes. All the other residential societies should follow this practice. Students and Women SHGs can be mobilized for this activity in their respective RWAs.

Conclusion:

E-waste management is a great challenge for governments of many developing countries such as India. This is becoming a huge public health issue and is exponentially increasing by the day. In order to separately collect, effectively treat, and dispose of e-waste, as well as divert it from conventional landfills and open burning, it is essential to integrate the informal sector with the formal sector. The competent authorities in developing and transition countries need to establish mechanisms for handling and treatment of e-waste in a safe and sustainable manner.

Increasing information campaigns, capacity building, and awareness is critical to promote environment friendly e-waste management programmer. Increasing efforts are urgently required on improvement of the current practices such as collection schemes and management practices to reduce the illegal trade of e-waste. Reducing the amount of hazardous substances in e-products will also have a positive effect in dealing with the specific e-waste streams since it will support the prevention process.

 The companies were made responsible for creating channels for proper collection and disposal of e-waste in accordance with a Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) approved EPR Authorization plan in India.