E-WASTE: GENERATION, DANGER AND MANAGEMENT

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WHAT IS E-WASTE?

Electronic Waste (e-Waste) comprises of waste electronic/electrical goods which are not fit for their originally intended use. These include items such as computers, cellular phones, stereos, refrigerators, air conditioners, other consumer durables, etc.

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THINGS TO CONSIDER

• What is E-Waste? • E-Waste in India• Categories and Components of E-Waste• Dangers of E-Waste• Stakeholders in E-Waste• E-Waste Management in India• Recommendations

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WHY IS E-WASTE A PROBLEM?

E-Waste poses a serious threat to human health and the environment.

Rapid technological

changes

Increasedelectronicspurchase

More E-Waste

More Hazardous materials in landfills

Increasing human

health risks

• Information and telecom fastest growing industry verticals

• PC sales crossed 7.3 million units in 2007-08 growing 16%;

installed base of over 25 million units

• Consumer electronics market growing at 13-15% annually ; 120

million installed base of TVS

• Cellular subscriber up by 96.86% over last year; Installed base to

cross 300 million by 2010

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GROWING ELECTRONIC INDUSTRY IN INDIA

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Level 1

Level 2

Level 3

Potential Annual e-Waste: 3,82,979 MT• of this Imports: 50K MT

e-Waste Processed:19K MT

Total e-Waste available for recycling and refurbishing: 14,4143 MT

E-WASTE GENERATION IN INDIA

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CATEGORIES OF E-WASTE

• Household appliances (large and small)• IT and Telecoms equipment• Consumer equipment• Lighting equipment• Electrical and electronic tools• Toys, leisure and sports equipment• Medical devices• Monitoring and control instruments• Automatic dispensers

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COMPONENTS OF E-WASTE

• COMPONENTS CONSTITUENTS

• Printed circuit boards Lead & cadmium

• Cathode ray tubes (CRTs) Lead oxide & Cadmium

• Switches & flat screen monitors Mercury

• Computer batteries Cadmium

• Capacitors and transformers Poly Chlorinated Bi-phenyls

(PCB)

• Printed circuit boards, plastic Brominated Flame Retardant

casings cable

• Cable insulation/coating Poly Vinyl Chloride (PVC)

DANGERS OF E-WASTE

• Arsenic may disrupt cell communication and interfere with the triggers that cause cells to grow, possibly contributing to cardiovascular disease, cancer and diabetes if someone is exposed in chronic, low doses.

• Cadmium affects your body's ability to metabolize calcium, leading to bone pain and severely weakened, fragile bones.

• Chromium can cause skin irritation and rashes and is potentially carcinogenic.

• Copper can irritate the throat and lungs and affect the liver, kidneys and other body systems.

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DANGERS OF E-WASTE

• Lead poisoning can cause a whole slew of health problems including the impairment of cognitive and verbal activity. Eventually, lead exposure can cause paralysis, coma and death.

• Nickel is carcinogenic in large doses.• Silver probably won't hurt you, but handle it too

frequently and you might come down with a case of argyria - a condition that permanently stains your skin a blue-gray shade.

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FLOW OF E-WASTE

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The E-waste centre of Agbogbloshie, Ghana, where electronic waste is burnt and disassembled with no safety or environmental considerations.

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STAKEHOLDERS IN E-WASTE MANAGEMENT

Almost everyone is a stakeholder

E-Waste

Suppliers

Collectors

Manufacturers

End-users

Recyclers

Resellers

Aggregators

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E-WASTE MANAGEMENT IN INDIA

• E-waste recycling is presently concentrated in the

informal (unorganized) sector

• No organized collection system prevails

• Operations are mostly illegal

• Processes are highly polluting

• Recycling operations engage in:

• dismantling

• sale of dismantled parts

• valuable resource recovery

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BETTER OPTIONS FOR YOUR E-WASTE

• Increase in sales price to take care of Total Life Cycle Cost

• Donation to schools, orphanage, charitable non-profit organisations

• Auctioning• Sale to recyclers

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BENEFITS OF RECYCLING

• Metal recovery for future uses• Conservation of natural resources• Air and water pollution avoidance• Reduction in amount of greenhouse gas

emissions via manufacturing of new products

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RECOMMENDATIONS

• Legislation on safe disposal with assistance of governments

• Accompanying sales of new consumer electronics through process fees

• Encouraging genuine recyclers• Manufacturers to take item back at end-of-life

with incentives.

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CONCLUSION

• E-Waste a ticking time bomb in developing countries, Nigeria inclusive

• India, as a major consumer of both new and used electronics products, needs to take an urgent look at E-Waste management via

• Legislation (legal framework)• Awareness creation at all levels of government

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THANK YOU!