ELECTRONIC WASTE

PRESENTATION OUTLINE
• Background
• Problems
• Management and disposal options
• The government’s responsibilities
 BACKGROUND
• There is no generally accepted definition of e-
waste
• Unwanted, obsolete or unusable electronic
products such as computers, computer
peripherals,televisions,VCRs,DVD Players,
stereo equipment, hand cell phones are
commonly referred to as ‘electronic waste’
 Problems
• Management and disposal of e-waste has become
a serious problem among states nationwide,
WHY?
• The problem of electronic waste (e-waste) is
growing at an unsustainable rate.
• E-waste is now the fastest growing, and most
toxic, component of municipal garbage.
• Local governments are facing huge costs to
handle e-waste, and even greater costs if they do
not capture this toxic stream and handle it in an
appropriate manner.
 Mobile phones; facts
• Production today- 23 phones/sec
• Sales 2003- 515 million
• Sales 2004- 665 million
• Sales 2005- 870 million
• Subscribers-1.9 billion in 2005
• Subscribers- 2.6 billion in 2009
• Lifespan- 0.5- 1.5 (with 1st user)
• (estimates from the Basel convention based study
2006)
E-waste accumulation in India
1.It is taking up valuable landfill space

• A study by the USA showed that 1-2% of municipal

waste is made up of e-waste
• A further research estimates the growing of e-waste
at 3 times the rate of other waste streams.
• It is also estimated that between 1997 and 2007,500
million computers would become obsolete
2.e-waste contains hazardous material
• The leaching of heavy material from e-waste
may a pose a potential long term human
health and environmental impacts
• ground Water especially is more likely to be
polluted (note, more half the country reliant
on ground water resources)
 Of particular concern is Lead in e-
waste
• Lead is a toxic substances which may cause
lead poisoning and can be especially harmful
young children.
• A typical 17-inch computer monitor contains
approximately 2.2 pounds of lead
• the 500 million computers that will become
obsolete between 1997 and 2007 will contain
nearly 1.6 billion pounds of lead
 Cathode ray tubes
• Much of the focus of managing e-waste
revolves around Cathode Ray Tubes-which
converts an electronic signal into a visual
image. Computer
monitors,televisions,camcorders and other
electronic devices contain CRT.
• Atypical CRT contains between 2 and 5
pounds of lead.
 Other problems
• Illegal exporting especially to Asia
• Uncontrolled burning and disposal are
causing env problems
• The toxicity of some of the substance, eg
mercury,cadmium may also pose an
environmental and health challenge
Management and disposal options
• Due to increased public,regulatory and
commercial scrutiny and also a
commensurate entrepreneur interest,there
has been a diversion from energy intensive
down cycling processes to more mature
processing systems
• This has been largely achieved through reuse
and refurbishing
 reuse
• Preventing waste in the first place is the
preferred mngt option
• This can be achieved through
repairing,upgrading used electrical equipment
• Example- adding memory to a
computer,upgrading software
 recycle
• Make use of take back programs
• Through recycling units are either reused or
dismantled for recycling.
• The silver,gold,lead and other heavy metal are
recyclable
 dispose
• The least preferred option is to landfill
electronic waste
• This should only come as a last option but care
to consult with state regulations on disposal
of any hazardous waste
 Benefits of reuse (social and env)
• Diminished demand for new products and their
commensurate requirement for virgin raw material
• There is lessened need for water and energy for the
associated manufacturing
• Less packaging per unit
• Availability of tech to wider swaths of society due to greater
affordability of products
• Saved landfill space
 challenges
• When materials cannot or will not be used,
conventional recycling or disposal via landfill
will follow
• The complexity of the items to be disposed of
• cost of env sound recycling systems
 Each one of us has a role to play!
• Need for a e-waste policy and legislation
• Encourage and facilitate organized recycling systems
• Should subsidies recycling and disposal industries
• Collect fee from manufactured/consumers for the
disposal of toxic material
• Incentive schemes for garbage collectors and general
public for collecting and handling over e-waste
• Awareness programme on e-waste for school children
and general public
 continuation
• Transparency and accountability to the public
Handling large amounts of e-waste poses risks of
toxic contamination to workers and surrounding
communities if conducted carelessly.
• Thus, the most basic criterion that employees and
citizens should rightfully expect from any recycling
operation is that it be open to public inspection.
 continuation
• General compliance with occupational health and
safety standards Observance of health and safety
standards in the workplace is important for
protecting workers from exposure to toxics whilst
handling e-waste
• Well-trained workers, who are fully protected by
the law to seek advice and take action to protect
their health and the environment without fear of
reprisal from their employer, are the most
effective environmental protection.
 Conclusion
• it is important that we create a national framework
for the environmentally sound management of e-
waste including wide public awareness and
education
• Conduct detailed inventories of e-waste
• Initiate pilot schemes on collection and sorting of e-
wastes,including take back schemes and schemes for
repair refurbishment and recycling
THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION