Is India the world's favorite e-waste basket?

By Renjith VP, SiliconIndia   |   Tuesday, 19 October 2010, 13:25 IST   |    10 Comments
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Is India the world's favorite e-waste basket?
Bangalore: Another 'e' word to add to the list of e-mail, e-commerce, e-paper, e-zone and e-bay - e-waste. But the latter is something that is quiet disconcerting for India at present. Recent reports have been giving out shocking numbers about the many tonnes of e-waste produced in the country every year. E-waste production is estimated to rise in huge amounts globally by 2015. But don't think that India is just another casual participant in this 'global event' because developed nations already know plans to outsmart the 'developing' third world and to be precise the vast growing mountain of used gadgets, computers, televisions and other electronics are likely to end up in the favorite dumping yard of the world - India. A recent report by United Nations estimates a 500 percent growth over the next 10 years in computer waste in India alone. Now that is some frightening news. Thanks to the IT boom and free trade agreements that are playing rounds for long time, India seems to be backfired now. Well, for those who think 'so what's new, India is notorious for the filth it produces', this is a whole new story. E-waste contains harmful substances like lead, cadmium and mercury which in the absence of suitable techniques and protective measures makes recycling it highly hazardous. Not a good news for the 'jai-ho' Indian because a recent report by the Delhi based Center for Science and Environment (CSE) says that apart from generating about 3,50,000 tonnes of electronic waste every year, India imports another 50,000 tonnes. The study alleges that the unorganized sector recycles more than 90 percent of this; and instead of organizing this sector, government chooses to ignore it. The fact that Indian govt. doesn't have a clear cut e-waste policy is also the main loophole harnessed by other countries. As of now India follows the National WEEE Strategy Group's legal framework which enforces the policy covered in WEEE forums in European countries but reports reveal that it isn't effective since stakeholders from developed countries involved in the framework don't follow it properly. Unofficial figures says 6,200 used CRT monitors were shipped into India - largely from Singapore and followed by South Africa - between April and December last year. This apart, 5,761 old and used printers were also imported from various destinations that prominently include parties from the US, Canada, France and Finland, besides the Middle-east and South Asia. The Delhi based Center for Science and Environment in its recent report also alleges that Attero Recycling which has the only license in India to import e-waste is reselling e-waste instead of recycling it. It is illegally trading e-waste, and such illegal trade results in huge pollution in the industry. As per the data, India generated 3,30,000 tonnes of e-waste in 2007 which is equal to 110 million laptops. About 10 percent of the e-waste generated is recycled every year; the remaining is refurbished, and the unorganized sector is right behind almost all of it. Informal dealers refurbish and make money from e-waste. The current practices of e-waste management in India suffer from a number of drawbacks like the difficulty in inventorisation, unhealthy conditions of informal recycling, inadequate legislation, poor awareness and reluctance on part of the corporate to address the critical issues. It is being reported that the free trade agreements currently being negotiated with the European Union and Japan include provisions for these countries to dump their e-waste in India. If this trend continues, India will soon become dumping ground for the global e-waste. Now world's favorite e-waste basket is a credit we really won't enjoy, is it?