Dead but dangerous

Electronic waste is piling up across India

New rules were put out last year for the safe disposal of hazardous electronic waste, or e-waste - and, predictably, resulted in an investment spurt in waste processing units. These rules put the onus of ensuring proper and harmless disposal of used electronic gadgets on their producers and bulk consumers. Hence the need for more capacity in dismantling and processing e-waste. This is innately a lucrative business, thanks to the presence of several high-value recyclable substances in these devices. Regrettably, the total volume of e-waste handled by the organised sector is still woefully minuscule. Over 90 per cent of the estimated one million tonnes of such waste generated in India annually is processed in the informal sector - and, in the most rudimentary manner, it is posing environmental and health hazards. Most of the used electrical and electronic equipment generally gets passed on to "kabadiwalas" (junk collectors) or lands up at landfills along with other garbage. Both methods are dangerous ways of e-waste disposal.

Discarded computers, mobiles, television sets and so on contain some highly toxic materials, such as lead, cadmium, mercury, barium and even, in some cases, arsenic. Some parts, like cathode ray tubes in computer monitors and TV sets, are radioactive. Landfills emit hazardous fumes; environmental damage gets even worse if the garbage is torched. Quite often, the e-waste collected by kabadiwalas is recycled and burnt in the open, releasing these toxins into the air. Some unsafe elements can leach down into groundwater and pollute it. Their toxicity can damage brain, lungs, kidneys and other organs, which may cause grave ailments.

The point to note is that electronic trash is the fastest-growing stream among all hazardous waste. The booming information technology sector is the largest contributor of such waste, thanks to fast-paced technology upscaling that progressively shortens the useful life of electronic equipment. Worse, some of the e-garbage generated abroad, especially in developed countries where its disposal is a costly affair, also lands up in India in the guise of charity and reuse. The problem is that few companies have complied with the law, and made adequate arrangements for taking back the items they've sold at the end of their useful life. The rules also state that e-waste can be recycled and reprocessed only in the facilities authorised by the state pollution control boards or committees. None of this is enforced. Most state pollution control bodies are ill-equipped to act against millions of e-waste collectors and processors in the unorganised sector. But they aren't even ensuring that bulk consumers of electronic equipment follow the rules. To tackle the informal sector, the best way is to capitalise on the wider outreach of the junk dealers to bulk as well as individual consumers to gather e-waste for safe disposal in the organised sector.