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E Waste Project
E Waste Project
E Waste Project
A
REPORT ON
E-WASTE IN KOLKATA
CONDUCTED AT:
“IMRB INTERNATIONAL”
UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF:
Mr. Rajarshi Roy
JEET DAS
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BONAFIDE WORK
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
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ABOUT IMRB
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services for specific countries or on a multi-country basis
throughout South Asia, the Middle East and North Africa.
IMRB International's specialised areas are consumer markets,
industrial marketing, business to business marketing, social
marketing and rural marketing.
In India, IMRB International has five full service offices and
fifteen field offices. IMRB research supports 40 of the top 50
brands in the country.
IMRB International has eight specialist units:
• Probe Qualitative Research (PQR)
• Social and Rural Research Institute (SRI)
• Media & Panel Group
• CSMM : Partners in Managing Stakeholder Relationships
• BIRD : Research-based Consultancy for B2B and
Technology Markets
• eTechnology Group@IMRB
• IMRB MindTech Systems: Software development house
• Abacus Research: Data Processing House.
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IMRB International has been the pioneer in conducting market
research exercises for several sectors. Today, there is hardly any
sector that IMRB International hasn't researched. From potato
wafers to PCs, cigarettes to cellular phones, alcohol to air
conditioners and bubble gums to building materials just name it
and we have researched it.
Agriculture and Agro-products
Alcohol
Automotive
Building and Construction
Consumer Durable
Distribution/Retail Trade
Household Care
IT/Internet
Industry and Business
Media and Entertainment
Social and Rural & Government
Tobacco
Engineering Sector
Education Sector
Processed Food
Sports Goods & Accessories
Health Care
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Finance/Banking/Insurance
Energy and Environment
Telecom
Processed Beverages
Cosmetics & Personal Care
Heavy Industries/Chemicals/Industrial/Minerals
Kids Products
Outwear/Clothing/Footwear/Accessories
Office Products & Services (non IT/non telecom)
Paper Products/Machinery
Services
Tourism, Travel & Leisure
Utilities/Infrastructure
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IMRB International has been named ‘MR Agency of the Year’
by the Market Research Society of India (MRSI) for the third
time since the award was introduced in 2005.
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held on September 25 – 26, at Hyatt Regency, Mumbai. IMRB
swept 4 of the five awards given and also won the MR Agency of
the Year.
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BRIEF DESCRIPTION -E-WASTE
Definition
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definition of "waste" electronics. The high value of the computer
recycling subset of electronic waste (working and reusable
laptops, computers, and components like RAM) can help pay the
cost of transportation for a large number of worthless
"commodities".
Problems
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an imploded cathode ray tube (CRT) is extremely difficult and
expensive to recycle. This has created a difficult free-market
economy. Large quantities of used electronics are typically sold
to countries with very high repair capability and high raw
material demand, which can result in high accumulations of
residue in poor areas without strong environmental laws. Trade in
electronic waste is controlled by the Basel Convention. The Basel
Convention Parties have considered the question of whether
exports of hazardous used electronic equipment for repair or
refurbishment are not considered as Basel Convention hazardous
wastes unless they are discarded. The burden of proof that the
items will be repaired and not discarded rest on the exporter, and
any ultimate disposal of non-working components is subject to
controls under that Convention. In the Guidance document
produced on that subject, that question was left up to the Parties.
Like virgin material mining and extraction, recycling of materials
from electronic scrap has raised concerns over toxicity and
carcinogenicity of some of its substances and processes. Toxic
substances in electronic waste may include lead, mercury, and
cadmium. Carcinogenic substances in electronic waste may
include polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Capacitors,
transformers, and wires insulated with or components coated with
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polyvinyl chloride (PVC), manufactured before 1977, often
contain dangerous amounts of PCBs.
Up to 38 separate chemical elements are incorporated into
electronic waste items. Many of the plastics used in electronic
equipment contain flame retardants. These are generally halogens
added to the plastic resin, making the plastics difficult to recycle.
Due to the flame retardants being additives, they easily leach off
the material in hot weather, which is a problem because when
disposed of, electronic waste is generally left outside. The flame
retardants leach into the soil and recorded levels were 93 times.
Higher than soil with no contact with electronic waste. The
unsustainability of discarding electronics and computer
technology is another reason commending the need to recycle or
to reuse electronic waste.
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Methods of E-Waste Disposals Practiced Globally
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though now demand more recent generation computers for
training students.
Foreign markets, on the other hand, have such cheap labour
forces that they can buy working and non-working old computers,
repair them at very little cost, and resell them for a profit. While
there are no figures available, the amount of computers being
exported for reuse is increasingly significant. While extending the
usable life of a computer is a good thing, these older units
obviously have a limited life span and will end up as waste sooner
or later. Thus, these used computers will also end up as e-waste
on foreign shores, often in countries that are least able to deal
with them appropriately.
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E-waste Hotspot Globally
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countries such as China. This figure is disputed as an
exaggeration by the EPA, the Institute for Scrap Recycling
Industries, and the World Reuse, Repair and Recycling
Association.
Guiyu in the Shantou region of China, Delhi and Bangalore in
India as well as the Agbogbloshie site near Accra, Ghana have
electronic waste processing areas. Uncontrolled burning,
disassembly, and disposal can cause a variety of environmental
problems such as groundwater contamination, atmospheric
pollution, or even water pollution either by immediate discharge
or due to surface runoff (especially near coastal areas), as well as
health problems including occupational safety and health effects
among those directly involved, due to the methods of processing
the waste. Thousands of men, women, and children are employed
in highly polluting, primitive recycling technologies, extracting
the metals, toners, and plastics from computers and other
electronic waste. Recent studies show that 7 out of 10 children in
this region have too much lead in their blood.
Proponents of the trade say growth of internet access is a stronger
correlation to trade than poverty. Haiti is poor and closer to the
port of New York than Southeast Asia, but far more electronic
waste is exported from New York to Asia than to Haiti.
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Thousands of men, women, and children are employed in reuse,
refurbishing, repair, and remanufacturing, sustainable industries
in decline in developed countries. It is held that denying
developing nations access to used electronics denies them
affordable products and internet access.
Opponents of the trade argue that developing countries utilize
methods that are more harmful and more wasteful. An expedient
and prevalent method is simply to toss equipment onto an open
fire, in order to melt plastics and to burn away unvaluable metals.
This releases carcinogens and neurotoxins into the air,
contributing to an acrid, lingering smog. These noxious fumes
include dioxins and furans. Bonfire refuse can be disposed of
quickly into drainage ditches or waterways feeding the ocean or
local water supplies.
In June 2008, a container of electronic waste, destined from the
Port of Oakland in the U.S. to Sanshui District in mainland
China, was intercepted in Hong Kong by Greenpeace. Concerns
over exports of electronic waste were raised in press reports in
India, Ghana, Ivory Coast, and Nigeria.
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Kolkata- Emerging E-waste Hotspot
West Bengal has been one of India’s fastest growing states in last
decade, with a 5.2% growth in per capita net SDP. Over the three-
year period, it was also ranked as the fifth most attractive
destination for investments. The state had identified IT as a
priority focus sector to be developed into a growth engine. This
focus was reflected in the fact that West Bengal was among the
first states to articulate an IT policy, (formalised in 2000) which
was followed by a special incentive scheme for IT industry
introduced in 2001.
Though a late starter in the field of information technology, at the
moment, there are more than 250 IT companies which are
providing direct employment to over 50,000 professionals. These
companies registered an export earning of over Rs 3,500 crore in
the financial year.
West Bengal today is home to most leading names in the IT
sector, including TCS, Wipro, IBM, Cognizant, PWC, HCL,
Genpac, Skytech, Siemens, etc. The department of information
technology has been attracting high-end IT companies; KPOs and
BPOs to the state to generate more employment and increase
export revenues. The government is also trying to develop
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satellite IT hubs in towns such as Siliguri, Durgapur, Kalyani,
Kharagpur and Haldia. While IT parks on Public Private
Partnership model have already been launched at Siliguri and
Durgapur, efforts are being made to develop an advanced IT park
near the IIT at Kharagpur. The vision is to rank among the top-3
IT States in India by 2010 and contribute 15-20 per cent of the
country’s total IT revenues. Its GDP in the service sector since
2001 has also grown at a blistering 25 percent. Banking and
insurance led that sector with 56 percent growth.
Kolkata, is the biggest and most important commercial point in
the eastern part of the country. The informal recycling business
has been going on this urban agglomerate for decades. Wastes
like plastic, metal, glass etc have traditionally been processed in
Kolkata and E-waste has joined this ‘elite’ group in recent times.
As it is an important port city, most of the international trade of
the eastern region of India also passes through Kolkata.
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OBJECTIVE OF THE PROJECT
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TARGET RESPONDENTS
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SAMPLE SIZE
OWN CONTRIBUTION
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METHODOLOGY
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Brief Description of Methodology
The study was carried out through various methods like review of
existing literature, structured and unstructured interviews,
exploratory surveys and photo documentation. Experiences from
earlier studies of IMRB were used to plan the study.
The research was carried out in phases-
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4. Exploratory survey with various stakeholders to understand
their perspective regarding the issue.
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LIMITATIONS
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4. In most places, we did not receive permission to take
photographs.
ANALYSIS OF THE
PROJECT
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QUERY ABOUT IT DISPOSALGUIDELINE
From the database we can see that the majority of the companies don’t
have any IT disposal guideline. Here we can see that only 5 companies
out of 20 companies have their IT disposal guideline. We also can see that
in the case of Government units they have their IT disposal guideline
fixed by the Government rules. But for other companies they decide about
the processes of IT disposal methods.
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TIME OF REPLACEMENT FOR DESKTOPS
The next question of the questionnaire was about the time for replacement
of desktops, we can see from the database that 42% companies have
disposed off their desktops after 5 years to 7 years after installation. And
other 58 % of the companies have disposed off their desktops after 3 to 5
years after installation. Later we have discussed about the causes of
replacement. But after that time duration the desktops become non
workable.
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TIME OF REPLACEMENT FOR LAPTOPS
The next question of the questionnaire was the reasons for replacement of
computers. From the database we can see that major cause of the
replacement was technical problem. From the chart we can see that 80%
people said that the major for replacement is technical problem. Another
70% people have said that the reason was obsolence of technology. Like
we can say now a days we normally use WINDOWS XP. So, the there is
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no use for Windows 98 etc. But other 20% people have said that the
reason for replacement was to keep pace with latest trends.
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TIME OF REPLACEMENT FOR INK JET PRINTERS
Now we are considering the printers. There are two types of printers
mainly used: a) Ink jet printers, b) laser printers. Now we are analyzing
the time for replacement of ink jet printers. From the database we can see
that among 20 companies 13 companies have said that they can use an ink
jet printers for 5 to 6 years after installation. Other 07 companies have
said that they can use it for 6 to 7 years after installation. So, we can see
that overall one ink jet printer can stay around 5 to 7 years after
installation.
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TIME OF REPLACEMENT FOR LASER PRINTERS
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CAUSES OF REPLACEMENT OF PRINTERS
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We can see from the database that out of 20 companies 2
companies have taken buy back policy with their vendors, 12 companies
have taken decision that they will sell off their wastage products to local
dealers & other 6 companies will sell them to their employees at lower
price.
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Now about the questions regarding awareness about impacts
of electronic waste, it has revealed that the most companies do not know
about the concept & also they are not concerned about it. Only 17%
companies have very good understanding about the problems of electronic
waste & the problems related to it. So I think it is a matter of concern for
the whole society.
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Here we are studying about what services do expected by
the companies from recycling companies. We can see from the database
that 85% companies are concerned about the monitory value from those
recycling companies. That is the main need of the companies.
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FINDINGS
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last 2 years. The study result shows that only 17 percent of the
people interviewed are acquainted with the term e- waste. While
83 % of people are ignorant of any toxic content in computers.
Among the choices that were given the majority preferred to go
for buy back / selling to second hand dealers plan. The second
choice was to give the obsolete computers to a collection centers
set up by authorized recyclers. It is to be noted that 83% of the
users expects returns in exchange money.
On the question if sharing responsibility of e- waste
management respondents put the responsibility with the
government.
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RECOMMENDATION
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MAIN RECOMMENDATION TO THE PROJECT
The study result shows that only 17% percent of the people
interviewed are acquainted with the term e- waste. While 83% of
people are totally unaware about such things. All the persons
surveyed were made aware of the risk with the disposal of
electronic waste & the existence of recycling industry in Kolkata.
The study also indicated that most of the users wanted an e-waste
management system governed by a structured regulation. This
they felt, would also generate a scope for some business. The also
revealed that the consumers felt that the manufacturers should
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pay for the disposal procedures & the users must be made more
aware on the issues & the ill effects of e- waste. There should be
warning & instructions by the manufacturers on each of the
packages &also should clearly indicate the responsibilities of the
in the process of its disposal.
THANK YOU
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