E-
WASTE AN EMERGING PROBLEM
The rapid increase in exports and imports of electronic goods leads to environmental pollutions and contamination, loss of precious resources, illegal and unscrupulous traffic in end-of-life equipment, with the resulting health, environmental and economic negative consequences. Many developing countries and countries with economies in transition, in particular, are confronted with the challenges of managing an increase problem of waste properly. Growing demand of local populations for electrical and electronic equipments, coupled with lack of adequate infrastructure to manage such waste safely may result in these wastes burnt in open air or dumped into sewers, rivers or in the ground and without the use of safe products to deal with the hazardous constituents e.g. CFCs, Lead, Cadmium, Beryllium, Mercury, Nickel and certain other organic compounds. Therefore, the problem of e-waste is now assuming a dangerous proportion throughout the world and growing awareness is discernible to maintain ecological balance for the future generation.
Conceptual Framework of E-Waste
Computers, printers, fax machine, telephones,microwave ovens, televisions, radio, VCRs, DVDs,CD players, the list of electronic equipment that we buy, enjoy and throw away goes on and on. These discarded electronic equipment, also known as e-waste. Today e-waste is one of the fastest growing waste streams because of growing sales and obsolescence of these products. Concerns have been raised that toxic chemicals will leach from discarded devices when discarded. The toxic chemicals commonly used in electronic waste include metals and metalloids (e.g. arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead and mercury) and organic chemicals such as brominated flame retardants (BFRs). In personal computer, for example, there may be lead in the cathode ray tube (CRT) and soldering compound,mercury in switches, cobalt in steel compounds, among other equally toxicsubstance. Lead is one heavy metal with known toxic properties that is found in large amount in many electronic devices. Electronic devices, along with lead batteries are major contributors of lead in the municipal solid waste stream. When sent to landfills in the mass quantities, lead can reach into, and ultimately contaminate, groundwater.Concerns also exist regarding the potential incineration of used computers and the deterious effect such a process may present in air emissions. For example, the incineration of baromiated flame retardants, which is used in computers to reduce flammability, can lead to emission of toxic dioxins into the ambient air.
The Magnitude of E-Waste
The statistics on electronic waste are alarming. E-waste is now the fastest growing part of municipal waste stream,according to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Each year, we dispose of roughly 250 million computers. In 2003, the National Safety Council predicted that between 315 million and 680 million computers will become obsolete each year. Out of the
high volume of discarded and obsolete computers, only 10% are actually recycled. In the next three years individuals and organizations world wide will replace more than 400 million computers. Every year, over 300 million cartridges are thrown away. In the next seven years, if all the laser and inkjet cartridges were saved from landfills, a bridge could be build from earth to moon, a distance of 223,000 miles. In the United States alone, there are over 200 million active mobile phones. Think of how many of those people are on their second and even third cell phones. When you consider that 80% of the world’s population lives in an area with cell phone reception, recycling old phones just makes sense. Further, the International Association of Electronics Recyclers estimates that 200 million television sets become obsolete in 2003. As consequences, many commentators forecast that the world will soon see a flood of e-waste.
E-Waste Laws
The governments and legislature around the world are realizing the seriousness of e-waste, and have adopted policies and laws that intended to reduce the environmental impact of activities to appropriate levels and prevent the environmental damage. Countries, such as Japan and the member nations of the European Union, have law that regulates e-waste. Internationally, the Basel Convention Treaty restricts the export of hazardous waste from developed countries to the developing nations. In US there are no federal regulations or legislations that specifically addresses e-waste disposal. There, are however, handfuls of state laws dealing with the issue. Currently Arkansas, California, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota and Washington have passed regulations governing the disposal and/or recycle of e-waste. Notably,California has recently enacted AB2901, the Cell Phone Recycling Act of 2004, which took effect on July, 2006. The law states that the retailers who sell mobile phones in California must offer no cost way for consumers to properly dispose of their old phones. Specifically, the requirements include “a system for the acceptance and collection of used cell phone for reuse, recycling or proper disposal”. A program of action in the Asia-Pacific region to dispose of electrical and electronic waste in an environmentally sound way and shop its illegal trafficking was also launched with the support of the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) at Basel Convention Regional Centers in China, Indonesia and Samos. In India, over the years, the Indian government has instituted a number of regulations for the better management of hazardous waste in the country. Some of these regulations are: Hazardous Wastes (Management and Handling) Rules, 1989/2000/2003 The Public Liability Act, 1991 Batteries (Management and Handling) Rules, 2001 Municipal Solid Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2000 and 2002 Added to these, according to Exim Policy 2002-07, second hand personal computers/laptops are not permitted for the import under EPCG (Export Promotion Capital Goods) scheme under the provision of para S.1 of the Exim Policy, even for the service providers. Second hand photocopiers machine, air conditioners, diesel generating sets, etc, can also not be imported under the EPCG scheme under the provision of para S.1 of Exim Policy even if these are less than 10 years old. Cumulatively, these laws are making some impacts on the responsible manufacturers and disposed of e-waste. As awareness of this issue continues to spread, progress will hopefully follow suit.
Managing the Problem of E-Waste
The enormous waste stream contain billions of pounds of hazardous materials, including lead, mercury, beryllium, cadmium, brominates, and more than 1,000 different toxic substances harmful to the human being and the environment if not disposed of properly. Thrown into landfills, theses substances leak and can eventually pollute groundwater. Therefore apart from the government regulations,proper management of e-waste is required. Here are some recommendations for managing e-waste. Encourage your local officials to set up a recycling program in your community Consider upgrading or repairing instead of buying new. Reuse is another way of keeping e-waste to landfills. Reusing computers, cell phones and electronic extends their useful life. That maximizes their value before they are finally recycled, and delay their entry into the waste stream-another advantage as more recycling techniques are developed. Buy electronic products from a dealer or retailer or manufacture that operates a take back program and allows consumer to return old equipment when buying new products. Import of e-waste, mainly from the US and Europe under the guise of ‘donations’ is already causing havoc in some poor countries. Say ‘no’ to such donations, because this is the strategic way to shift e-waste from these countries. Purchasers who do not want the responsibility of dealing with the end-of-life equipment, but still prefer to use the most up-to-date products, should consider leasing instead of buying new. Last but not the least, the prevention of illegal traffic in electronic wastes requires tighter controls by both the State of exports and the State of import and cooperation among the States at global and regional level.
Conclusion
As we become more and more dependent on computers and other electronic equipments, the time has come to recognize the environmental consequences of new technology. At present, management options for e-waste are extremely polluting and hence are of grave concern. This problem has assumed a global dimension, of which India is an integral and affected part Individual consumers are obviously not solely responsible for e-waste problem. Institutions also bear a significant ownership of these problems. Therefore, there is an immediate need for collaboration between industry, government, environmental groups and citizens to solve the problems of ewaste. It also requires public-private strategic partnership to address the issues related to integrate waste management, energy efficiency and access to environmentally sound technologies with a view to improving-collection and segregation of both hazardous waste and household wastes. Further, the management of electronic waste has to be assessed in the broad framework of Extended Producer Responsibility and the Precautionary Principle, so that future policies can be made more responsive in addressing this issue. Interventions to check the polluting systems of recycling and give viable options for better
management of computer waste can best be suggested only after as assessment is done All the more, change will come only with awareness.
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