ELECTRONIC WASTE

Electronic waste, "e-waste" or

"Waste Electrical and Electronic
Equipment" ("WEEE") is a
waste consisting of any broken
or unwanted electrical or
electronic appliance.

It is a point of concern
considering that many
components of such equipment
are considered toxic and are not
biodegradable.
India generates close to
500,000 tons e-waste p.a.
Expected to touch a million ton by 2011
Broad break up appears as under:
Mumbai : 50,000 tons
Delhi : 35,000
Bangalore : 30,000
Chennai : 25,000
Kolkata : 19,000
Ahmedabad : 14,000
Hyderabad : 13,000
Pune : 10,000
Indore : 8,000
WASTE PILING UP
IT & Telecom Equipments

Large Household Appliances

Small Household Appliances

Consumer & Lighting Equipments

Electrical & Electronic Tools

Toys, Leisure & Sports Equipment

Medical Devices

Monitoring & Control Instruments
SOURCES OF WEEE
Over 400 million current mobile users
expected to increase to

500 million by
2010 end

At present, India has about
40 million computers
which are expected to grow
to 80 million computers
by end 2010
Over 14 million old PCs
ready for disposal in India
What contributes to e-waste?
A relatively new category of waste brought along with the high-tech boom
E-waste includes all types of electronic equipments/ products which have become
obsolete or have been discarded due to:
Advancement in technology
Changes in fashion, style, status or perception
Nearing the end of their useful life
Generally understood to refer to any old, obsolete, end-of-life appliances using
electricity which have been disposed off by their owners
How informal sector deals with?
A relatively new industry in India, traditionally dominated by the unorganized
segment
Scrap dealers and rag-pickers gather e-waste from households in their area of
operation and employ crude and highly unsafe processes for recycling the same,
causing significant environmental damage
open burning of wires to extract resalable copper, soaking of circuit boards in acid baths to
extract precious metal, disposing the residue into open drains or land, etc.
The formal e-waste recycling segment consists of a few large players which have the
proper infrastructure to handle WEEE equipment


Unsafe methods for e-waste recycling
The unorganised segment often employs crude and highly unsafe processes for while
recycling e-waste, and extracting precious materials therefrom

Magnitude of e-waste in India
As per a study released by MAIT, India generated 330,000 MT of electronic waste in
2007, while an additional 50,000 MT was illegally imported
MAIT estimates that by 2011, e-waste in India would touch 470,000 MT
The Western region contributes maximum to e-waste generation up to 35%
Sixty five cities in India generate up to 60% of total e-waste
Ten states alone generate more than 70% of total e-waste
MAIT estimates that only 19,000 tonnes of the total e-waste generated gets
ultimately processed by the formal recycling sector
As per the study, around 94% of corporates in India do not have a policy on disposal
of obsolete IT products/ e-waste

Ferrous
Metal, 32%
Plastic, 23%
Non-ferrous
Metal, 18%
Glass, 15%
Electronic
Boards, 12%
Contents of a Computer
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
North East West South
E-Waste Generation in India
Annual E-Waste Generated
3,32,979 MT
Available for Recycling
1,44,443 MT
E-Waste Processed
19,000 MT
Major toxic elements in e-waste
Due to the pervading reach of information technology in trade and commerce,
computer waste is the most significant of all e-waste, along with televisions and
cellular phones
E-waste contains both valuable as well as harmful components
Valuable components include precious metals such as gold, silver, copper, palladium, etc.
Harmful substances include lead, mercury, cadmium, etc.
Some of the key toxic elements contained within components of a computer include:


Components of a computer Key Toxic Constituents
Printed Circuit Boards Lead and cadmium
Cathode ray Tubes(CRTs) Lead oxide and cadmium
Switches and Flat-screen Monitors Mercury
Computer Batteries Cadmium
Capacitors and Transformers Poly Chlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs)
Printed Circuit Boards, Plastic Casing Cable Brominated Flame Retardants (BFRs)
Computer Batteries Poly Vinyl Chloride (PVC)
Toxic Elements Inside a Computer