E- Waste

E-WASTE
Categories
Problems
Growth
Source of E-Waste
Hazards
Existing Legislation
Need for Legal Framework
CONCLUSION
REFERENCES
Electronic waste or e-waste is any broken or
unwanted electrical or electronic appliance.

E-waste includes computers, entertainment

electronics, mobile phones and other items
that have been discarded by their original
users.
Large household appliances
Small household appliances
IT and telecommunications equipment
Consumer equipment
Lighting equipment
Electrical and electronic tools
Toys, leisure and sports equipment
Medical
Monitoring and control instruments
Automatic dispensers
E-waste is the most rapidly growing waste problem in the
world.
It is a crisis of not quantity alone but also a crisis born from
toxics ingredients, posing a threat to the occupational health
as well as the environment.
Rapid technology change, low initial cost, high
obsolescence rate have resulted in a fast growing problem
around the globe.
Legal framework, proper collection system missing.
Imports regularly coming to the recycling markets.
Inhuman working conditions for recycling.
IT and telecom are two fastest growing
industries in the country.
India, by 2008, has achieved a PC penetration of
65 per 1,000 .
At present, India has 15 million computers. The
target being 75 million computers by 2010.
Over 2 million old PCs ready for disposal in
India.
Life of a computer reduced from 7 years to 3-5
years.
India is now growing at about 10 million new
mobile users every month, and that pace of
growth will continue.
The mobile subscriber base in India rose by 50%,
or more than 130 mln, to 391.8 mln.
Memory devices, MP3 players, iPods etc. are the
newer additions.
Preliminary estimates suggest that total WEEE
generation in India is approximately 1,46,000
tonnes per year.
Three categories of WEEE account for almost
90% of the generation:

Large Household appliances: 42.1%

Information and communications:

33.9%
technology equipment

Consumer Electronics: 13.7%

Imports.
Govt., public and private sector discards (over
70%)
PC retailers, manufacturers.
Secondary market of old PCs.
Individual Households.
Average PC of approx. 31.5 Two million Obsolete PCs
kg wt. contains: would mean:

7.24 kg- Plastics  14,427,000 kg

1.98 kg- Lead 
3,962,700 kg
0.693g - Mercury  1,386 kg
0.4095g -  819 kg
Arsenic 
5,922 kg
2.961g -  3,969 kg
Cadmium 
19,845 kg
1.98g -  9,891 kg
Chromium
9.92g - Barium
 Existing Legislation
Trans boundary movement of E waste covered
under the Basel convention.
India ratified the convention in 1992.
Waste listed in list A and list B which prohibits
such movements.
Waste importers exploit such gaps as listed in the
convention.
Allowed to import against a license.
Covered under the “Hazardous Waste Amended
Rules, 2003” in List A and B of Schedule 3.
The Rule is inadequate to handle generation,
transportation and disposal of this complex
waste.
Regulators unable to monitor and regulate the
informal sector.
Ban on total imports of E waste.
Domestic legal framework to address the gaps in
import of E Waste.
Need to address safe disposal of domestic waste.
Tie recycling in with take-back product
responsibility.
The Framework should address the issue of E
waste imports for reuse and recycling.
Attract investment in this sector.
Link up activities of informal sector with formal
sector.
Incorporate precautionary principles and polluter
pays.
http://www.e-waste.in
www.toxicslink.org
http://ewasteguide.info
http://images.google.co.in