E-WASTE MANAGEMENT IN VIT

A Mini Project Report submitted in partial fulfilment of the

requirements for the degree

of

B.Tech (Civil Engineering)

by

SIMRANJEET SINGH CHAWLA

VIT UNIVERSITY

VELLORE – 632 014, TAMILNADU

 Submitted to

VIT University

May 2016
SCHOOL OF CIVIL AND CHEMICAL ENGINEERING

BONAFIDE CERTIFICATE
 This is to certify that the thesis entitled “E-WASTE MANAGEMENT IN VIT” is submitted

by SIMRANJEET SINGH CHAWLA 14BCL0165 to the School of Civil and Chemical

Engineering , VIT University, Vellore, for the award of the degree in B.Tech is a bonafide

record of work carried out by him under my supervision. The contents of this thesis, in full or in

parts have not been submitted to any other Institute or University for the award of any degree or

diploma.

Guide HOD

Internal Examiner External Examiner

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I have taken efforts in this project. However, it would not have been possible
without the kind support and help of many individuals. I would like to extend my
sincere thanks to all of them.I am highly indebted to Prof bhaskar Das for his
guidance and constant supervision as well as for providing necessary information
regarding the project & also for his support in completing the project.I would like
to express my gratitude towards my parents &colleaguefor their kind co-operation
and encouragement which helped me in completion of this project.I would like to
express my special gratitude and thanks to the students of VIT for giving me such
attention and time.My thanks and appreciations also goes to my colleague in
developing the project and people who have willingly helped me out with their
abilities.The guidance and support received from all the members who contributed
and who are contributing to this project, was vital for the success of the project. I
am grateful for their constant support and help.
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ABSTRACT

Electronic equipment, entertainment devices & many other electronic or electrical

devices which are unwanted, broken & discarded by their original users are known
as ‘E-Waste’ or ‘Electronic Waste’.We are living in a digital era and
conventionally the methodology of study in our college is online. Soft copy is
widely used by students and teachers. This leads to usage of more and more
electronic devices which results in generation of more e-waste.It is obligatory for
students in VIT to own electronic devices for academic purposes. Though it results
in less wastage of papers but leads to increase in generation of e-waste.Our project
is mainly based on e waste production and management in VIT.We found out the
sources,reasons,and different ways of e waste production and disposal in our
college.We conducted a survey among the students of all the branches staying in
different hostels of VIT on their usage,dumping of e waste.E waste in VIT is of a
good amount and is just neglected like the normal stationary wastes.We finally
outline certain key features of this entire policy formulation process which could
be used for facilitating similar processes in the future.
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CONTENTS

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW

CHAPTER 3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

CHAPTER 4 CONCLUSIONS

CHAPTER 5 SCOPE OF FUTURE WORK

REFERENCES

APPENDICES

V
LIST OF TABLES

1. Dimensions of E-waste

2. E-waste survey
 CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

It may be defined as, computers, office electronic equipment, entertainment

devices & many other electronic or electrical devices which are unwanted, broken
& discarded by their original users are known as ‘E-Waste’ or ‘Electronic
Waste’.E-waste contains valuable constituents such as precious and strategic
metals like gold and copper etc., thereby making it economically viable to recycle.
The processes involved in the dismantling of ewaste and the extraction of valuable
materials poses environmental and health hazards, if such recycling activities are
carried out by the informal sector in an unregulated manner. As there is no control
over the activities of the informal sector, they use crude and highly hazardous
techniques for processing the e-waste. However, these hazardous processes are
limited only to material extraction from e-waste. The role of informal sector in
collection, segregation and dismantling plays a beneficial role both
environmentally and socially. The environmental benefits stem from higher levels
of efficiency in secondary processing if the primary processing is done manually,
which is the standard practice in the informal sector. The social benefits stem from
retaining and creating jobs in the sector in the process of ensuring environmentally
sound recycling of e-waste.The existing regulations at the time were not sufficient
to take care of the emerging challenges due to e-waste because of the specific
characteristics of waste stream. Specifically, the post-consumer nature of e-waste
coupled with hazards related to improper recycling implied that it had features of
both Municipal Solid Waste as well as Hazardous Waste. To slot e-waste in either
of these categories and apply regulations which governed the management of
Hazardous or Municipal Solid Waste would imply gaps in
implementation.Electronic products are complicated assemblies containing dozens
of compounds that are known to have adverse impacts on human health and the
environment, including lead, mercury, arsenic, cadmium, polyvinyl chloride, and
several classes of brominated flame retardants. Improperly disposing of these
products in landfills or incinerators at the end of their useful life creates serious
health and environmental threats. The growth of e-waste has significant economic
and social impacts. The increase of electrical and electronic products, consumption
rates and higher obsolescence rate leads to higher generation of e-waste. The
increasing obsolescence rate of electronic products also adds to the huge import of
used electronics products. The e-waste inventory based on this obsolescence rate in
India for the year 2005 has been estimated to be 146180.00 tonnes which is
expected to exceed 8,00,000 tonnes by 2012. There is no large scale organized e-
waste recycling facility in India and there are two small e-waste dismantling
facilities are functioning in Chennai and Bangalore, while most of the e-waste
recycling units are operating in unorganized sector.
 CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

Objectives of research:

 To find out the awareness regarding existence of E-waste in college going

students of professional and non-professional streams.

 To find out the awareness regarding danger of E-waste in college going

students of professional and non-professional streams.

 To find out the awareness regarding E-waste management in college going

students of professional and non-professional streams.

Hypotheses of research:

 There is no significant difference in the awareness regarding existence of E-

waste in college going students of professional and non-professional streams.

 There is no significant difference in the awareness regarding danger of E-

waste in college going students of professional stream with their non-
professional counterpart.

 There is no significant difference in the awareness regarding E-waste

management in college going students of professional and non-professional
streams.

The composition of e-waste consists of diverse items like ferrous and nonferrous
metals, glass, plastic, electronic components and other items and it is also revealed
that e-waste consists of hazardous elements. Therefore, the major approach to treat
e-waste is to reduce the concentration of these hazardous chemicals and elements
through recycle and recovery. In the process of recycling or recovery, certain e-
waste fractions act as secondary raw material for recovery of valuable items . The
recycle and recovery includes the following unit operations.
(i) Dismantling: Removal of parts containing dangerous substances (CFCs, Hg
switches, PCB); removal of easily accessible parts containing valuable substances
(cable containing copper, steel, iron, precious metal containing parts.).

(ii) Segregation: Separating of ferrous metal, nonferrous metal and plastic, this
separation is normally done in a shredder process.

(iii) Refurbishment and reuse: Refurbishment and reuse of e-waste has potential
for those used electrical and electronic equipment which can be easily refurbished
to put to its original use.

(iv) Recycling/recovery of valuable materials: Ferrous metals in electrical

furnaces, non-ferrous metals in smelting plants, precious metals in separating
works.

(v) Treatment/disposal of dangerous materials and waste: Shredder light fraction is

disposed of in landfill sites or sometimes incinerated (expensive), Chloro Fluro
Carbons (CFCs) are treated thermally, Printed Circuit Board (PCB) is incinerated
or disposed of in underground storages, and mercury is often recycled or disposed
of in underground landfill sites. The value of recovery from the elements would be
much higher if appropriate technologies are used.

TREATMENT & DISPOSAL OPTIONS The presence of hazardous elements in

e-waste offers the potential of increasing the intensity of their discharge in
environment due to landfilling and incineration. The potential treatment disposal
options based on the composition are given below

: • Landfilling • Incineration • Recycling • Reuse

LANDFILLING The literature review reveals that degradation processes in

landfills are very complicated and run over a wide time span. At present it is not
possible to quantify environmental impacts from E-waste in landfills for the
following reasons: Landfills contain mixtures of various waste streams. Emission
of pollutants from landfills can be delayed for many years; According to climatic
conditions and technologies applied in landfills,data on the concentration of
substances in leachate and landfill gas from municipal waste landfill sites differ
with a factor 2-3. One of the studies on landfills reports that the environmental
risks from landfilling of e-waste cannot be neglected because the conditions in a
landfillsite are different from a native soil, particularly concerning the leaching
behavior of metals. In addition it is known that cadmium and mercury are emitted
in diffuse form or via the landfill gas combustion plant. Although the risks cannot
be quantified and traced back to e-waste, landfilling does not appear to be an
environmentally sound treatment method for substances, which are volatile and not
biologically degradable (Cd, Hg, CFC), persistent (PCB) or with unknown
behaviour in a landfill site (brominated flame retardants). As a consequence of the
complex material mixture in e-waste, it is not possible to exclude environmental
(long-term) risks even in secured landfilling.

INCINERATION Advantage of incineration of e-waste is the reduction of waste

volume and the utilization of the energy content of combustible materials. Some
plants remove iron from the slag for recycling. By incineration some
environmentally hazardous organic substances are converted into less hazardous
compounds. Disadvantage of incineration are the emission to air of substances
escaping flue gas cleaning and the large amount of residues from gas cleaning and
combustion. There is no available research study or comparable data, which
indicates the impact of e-waste emissions into the overall performance of
municipal waste incineration plants. Waste incineration plants contribute
significantly to the annual emissions of cadmium and mercury. In addition, heavy
metals not emitted into the atmosphere are transferred to slag and exhaust gas
residues and can re-enter the environment on disposal. Therefore, e-waste
incineration will increase these emissions, if no reduction measures like removal of
heavy metals e-waste are taken.

RECYCLING OF E-WASTE: Monitors & CRT, keyboards, laptops, modems,

telephone boards, hard drives, floppy drives, Compact disks, and mobiles, fax
machines, printers, CPUs, memory chips, connecting wires & cables can be
recycled [4]. Recycling involves dismantling i.e. removal of different parts of e-
waste containing dangerous substances like PCB, Hg, separation of plastic,
removal of CRT, segregation of ferrous and non-ferrous metals and printed circuit
boards. Recyclers use strong acids to remove precious metals such as copper, lead,
gold. The value of recycling from the element could be much higher if appropriate
technologies are used. The recyclers are working in poorly–ventilated enclosed
areas without mask and technical expertise results in exposure to dangerous and
slow poisoning chemicals. The existing dumping grounds in India are full and
overflowing beyond capacity and it is difficult to getnew dumping sites due to
scarcity of land. Therefore recycling is the best possible option for the management
of e-waste.

BENEFITS OF RECYCLING Recycling raw materials from end-of-life

electronics is the most effective solution to the growing e-waste problem. Most
electronic devices contain a variety of materials, including metals that can be
recovered for future uses. By dismantling and providing reuse possibilities, intact
natural resources are conserved and air and water pollution caused by hazardous
disposal is avoided. Additionally, recycling reduces the amount of greenhouse gas
emissions caused by the manufacturing of new products. It simply makes good
sense and is efficient to recycle and to do our part to keep the environment green.
4.4 RE-USE: It constitutes direct second hand use or use after slight modifications
to the original functioning equipment. It is commonly used for electronic
equipment like computers, cell phones etc. This method also reduces the volume of
e-waste generation. We can use above mentioned methods for treatment and
disposal of e-waste. The better option is to avoid its generation. To achieve this,
buy back of old electronic equipment’s shall be made mandatory.

PROCESSING TECHNIQUES In developed countries, electronic waste

processing usually first involves dismantling the equipment into various parts
(metal frames, power supplies, circuit boards, plastics), often by hand. The
advantages of this process are the human's ability to recognize and save working
and repairable parts, including chips, transistors, RAM, etc. The disadvantage is
that the labour is cheapest in countries with the lowest health and safety standards .
In an alternative bulk system, a hopper conveys material for shredding into an
unsophisticated mechanical separator, with screening and granulating machines to
separate constituent metal and plastic fractions, which are sold to smelters or
plastics recyclers. Such recycling machinery is enclosed and employs a dust
collection system. Some of the emissions are caught by scrubbers and screens.
Magnets, eddy currents, and trommel screens are employed to separate glass,
plastic, and ferrous and nonferrous metals, which can then be further separated at a
smelter. Leaded glass from CRTs is reused in car batteries, ammunition, and lead
wheel weights, or sold to foundries as a fluxing agent in processing raw lead
Copper, gold, palladium, silver, and tin are valuable metals sold to smelters for
recycling. Hazardous smoke and gases are captured, contained, and treated to
mitigate environmental threat. These methods allow for safe reclamation of all
valuable computer construction materials . Reuse is an alternative option to
recycling because it extends the lifespan of a device. Devices still need eventual
recycling, but by allowing others to purchase used electronics, recycling can be
postponed and value gained from device use.
 CHAPTER 3

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

It is estimated that 75% of electronic items are strored due to uncertainity of how
to manage it. This electronic waste lies unattended in student’s rooms, offices,
faculties house etc. and normally mixed with other waste, which are finally
disposed off at landfills. This necessitates implantable measure.

Our survey suggests that the major portion of E-waste is Wires, cables, earphones
and batteries. Also, smaller electronic items like pen drive or card readers get lost
often and end up being contributing to waste. Often the pile of damaged electronic
items is stored in room and while shifting of room or leaving, this pile is thrown
out mixed up with up other waste.

There is no separate facility in VIT for management of e-waste in campus itself.

Instead all the wastes are stored off at same place. These wastes aren’t disposed in
campus itself. They are taken to nearby waste disposing site and before being
disposed off it is separated from other wastes. It can be greatly optimized if the
separation was to be done from room itself.
An individual student can play a vital role in minimizing electronic waste. Waste
prevention is perhaps more preferred to any other waste management option
including recycling. Donating electronics for reuse extends the lives of valuable
products and keeps them out of the waste management system for a longer time.
Reuse, in addition to being an environmentally preferable alternative, also benefits
society. By donating used electronics, schools, non-profit organizations, and lower-
income families can afford to use equipment that they otherwise could not afford.

E-wastes should never be disposed with garbage and other household wastes. This
should be segregated at the site and sold or donated to various organizations.
 CHAPTER 4

CONCLUSION

There is a need for e-waste policy in campus. We will have to create a framework
for the environmentally sound management of e-waste. Detailed inventories of e-
waste needs to be conducted. Going a step forward, schemes can be initiated on
collection and sorting of e-waste, including take back schemes and schemes for
repair, refurbishment and recycling. There should be encouragement and
facilitation for recycling system. Also, there should be awareness programs on
management of electronic waste and hazards of them if not being disposed off
properly.
 REFERENCES

1. Freeman M. H. (1989), “Standard Handbook of Hazardous Waste Treatment

and Disposal”, McGraw-Hill Company, USA.

2. Third World Network. (1991). Toxic Terror: Dumping of Hazardous Wastes

in the Third World, Third World Network, Malaysia.
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