FAQs
A. What is an e-waste? E-waste is electronic waste – i.e. discarded electronic equipment. In other words it refers to the electronic products nearing the end of their useful life period. It includes a broad range of electronic devices from computers to hand-held cellular phones, stereos, consumer electronics, ovens, refrigerators, monitors etc. B. How e-waste is relevant to a common man who is using a PC at home for personal use mainly? E-waste is relevant to any one using an electronic device whether at home office or any other environment. Consumer electronics contain a variety of recyclable materials like metals, glass, plastics and several other hazardous chemical substances. If old equipments are not properly disposed then these substances will remain in the environment and can prove to be really harmful to the humans and our surroundings in the long run. C. How these e-wastes are harmful to our environment? Electronic components assemblies often contain a variety of heavy metals and other substances like Cadmium, lead, mercury, antimony, arsenic etc. If these materials are released into earth or water they can be dangerous to the environment and the living beings around, in a long term. D. Whom do I contact for my e-waste disposal related queries? The contact details of the recycling agency are available on our website www.hclinfosystems.in/environment.htm. You can also reach HCL help-desk through ewaste.safe@hcl.in
E. Is there any minimum amount of e-waste defined to avail the service of ewaste recycling? No, there is not any minimum amount specified to avail the services of e-waste recycling. F. How much do I need to pay to get my product disposed off through recycling? The customer needs to only bear the cost of sending the material to the recycling agency. There is no processing fee involved in this.
G. Can I get my other electronic equipments like PC, Monitor, Printer etc also recycled after their useful life period is over? You can get only HCL manufactured products recycled after they have crossed their “useful life period”
H. Do you inform your customers about this facility while selling the products to them? Yes, we inform all our consumers about this facility through product brochures/manuals and websites.
I. Is the recycling system and the agency government approved? Yes, the recycling agency and the recycling process being carried out by the agency are approved and certified by the Government of India. J. Is it safe to get my old electronic products repaired and reused? Yes, it is completely safe to get your old equipments repaired and reused at least till they work upto your satisfaction. Any day it is better to reuse the old products compared to disposing them off. But if the old equipments are damaged beyond repair or too worn out then it is suggested to get them recycled in an environmentally safe manner. K. What are the options currently available to the users? The options available to the consumers are either to repair and reuse the old product or to send them for recycling. L. What hazardous materials are there in electronics products and how do you plan to get rid of them? Apart from the heavy metals used in the electronic equipments there are also Cadmium, lead, mercury, antimony and arsenic present in the equipments which are dangerous to the environment if not disposed off properly. Hence, through our e-waste recycling process we intend to dispose these hazaedous materials in an environmentally safe manner. M. What was the process prior to the formation of these recycling agencies? Earlier the awareness about e-waste was not much among the consumers so they did not know the importance of proper disposal of the un-usable electronic equipments. Generally consumers used to either reuse the product after getting them repaired or exchange them to buy a new product, or sent to land fill/ incineration etc.. But now, when the e-waste disposal has become a subject of concern to many corporate globally and nationally, we have planned to facilitate an efficient channel where they can dispose off the e-waste in an environmentally safe manner.