Norms for e-waste disposal yet to be finalised
150,000 tonnes of electronic waste are generated in the country every year
by Bindu Shajan Perappadan, The Hindu (India)
4 March 2007 (New Delhi) – A conservative estimate of electronic wastes generated by the country puts the figure at 150,000 tonnes every year. However, the Central Pollution Control Board is yet to finalise guidelines for disposal of e-waste and the current unregulated handling practices suffer from use of crude methods for dismantling and storage, minimal capital input and zero health and environmental safeguards.
Almost all e-waste — including computers, TV sets, refrigerators and washing machines — finds its way into the informal sector. With the volume of waste generated now increasing manifold, studies by experts have shown that both Delhi and Mumbai are burdened with waste that is too dangerous to be handled in such congested areas. Toxics Link director Ravi Agarwal releasing a new study on "Mumbai: Choking on e-waste" here said: "The menace of e-waste is growing consistently. Dangerously, even the import of e-waste is seeing an upward trend. The waste comes in both misclassified as 'metal scrap' as well as end-of-life products as 'second hand goods'. At present the Customs are not able to screen or monitor the import of hazardous waste and this needs to be stopped."
The study revealed that Mumbai is not just the leading generator of e-waste, the rate at which the city is throwing away electronic goods is far higher than previously believed. Mumbai has a large network of scrap traders. Meanwhile, Delhi has been tipped as the largest e-waste recycler and receives a substantial part of Mumbai's electronic discards.
"Slack enforcement of laws banning hazardous waste processing in residential areas of Delhi is an added 'attraction' for recyclers. Also, Delhi and some of its satellite urban areas seem to have acquired specialisation in dealing with this environmentally hazards activity," said Toxics Link member Satish Sinha.
"Lack of a legislative framework to address the issue of electronic waste management by taking on board all stakeholders is hampering solution implementation. Extended producers' responsibility approach, which broadly implies that producers be made responsible for their product even after the consumer has bought and used it, is emerging as a popular alternative for e-waste management in various countries of the world.
India needs to take steps in this direction," added Mr. Agarwal.
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