E-waste generators raking in money

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Publication: The Times Of India Bangalore;Date: Sep 26, 2012;Section: Times City;Page: 4

THE MUCK STOPS HERE

E-waste generators raking in money With IT Units Selling Waste To The Highest Bidder, Recycling Industry Is Facing Tough Times
Rhik Kundu | TNN

Conducting business amidst heaps of old and degenerated computer hardware and circuit boards without any protective gear is a daily chore for Fayaz Ahmed. The e-waste recycler, who set his factory in Goripalya a year ago, is among the 200-odd recyclers and dismantlers of hundreds of tonnes of electronic waste generated daily by the IT city. Most recyclers, from both authorized and unauthorized sectors, work amongst e-waste comprising toxic metals like mercury, lead and cadmium without donning any protective gear. The number of recycler is slowly dwindling, especially in the unauthorized sector. Most companies used to give away their old computers and e-waste for free for recycling. But, of late, they have started competitive bidding, said Fayaz. He added that he gets around 10 tonnes of electronic trash in a month but his business is yet to break even. I joined the business a year ago. Its too short a time to make a huge profit in this business. Also, the companies have made it tough for us by resorting to auction, he said. The formal recycling sector is also feeling the heat. Asif Pasha, one of the first persons to switch over from the informal to the formal sector after he received the certification from Karnataka State Pollution Control Board in 2009, said: The competitive pricing to procure e-waste set by companies has created a huge dent in our profitability. There have been many cases where the companies and MNCs have given their electronic waste to unauthorized agents after receiving the highest bid from them, he said. DISPOSAL SYSTEM WELL-OILED Bangalores famed IT sector generates over 7,000 tonnes of e-waste every day. There are over 1,500 software companies registered in Karnataka as Export Oriented Units (EOUs). In addition, there are over 35 hardware manufacturing units and over 70,000 professionals employed by the BPO industry. These three segments contribute the largest to the citys e-waste generation. According to a study, each company contributes about five tonnes of e-scrap every year, which is equivalent to 150-200 computers. The other sources of ewaste are mostly rejects from the manufacturing sector, while a very limited amount of this waste is generated from the household sector. According to various surveys, the flow of electronic scrap is well established in Bangalore. Many organizations have direct links with scrap dealers and recyclers and the sale of computer scrap is done directly, while others in the public sector and custom departments auction the waste. In most cases, companies outsource auctions to external agencies. DISPOSAL PROCESS Collection: E-waste like old computer hardware, printer circuit boards or PCB boards, wires and electrical components are collected Segregation: E-waste is segregated into different categories. Large components are broken and further segregated. Materials retrieved include plastic wires, cathode ray tubes, wires and PCBs Dismantling: Plastic, metal, glass and other components are dismantled separately Disposal: While a large part of plastic and metal are burnt in furnace, some usable components are sold Recycling: Includes extraction of precious metals from gold and silver coated connectors in the PCB and keyboard, recovery and re-cycling of plastic and retrieval of copper from various components including PVC wires

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E-waste generators raking in money

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WHAT IS E-WASTE? E-waste consists of waste from electronic products like personal computers, mobile telephones and household appliances. It is considered hazardous waste due to its toxic ingredients like heavy metals and harmful chemicals such as lead, cadmium, mercury, arsenic with the potential to pollute the environment and damage human health when it is processed, recycled or disposed of. DISMANTLING LOCALITIES Mysore Road, Goripalya (Central) Rajajinagar (West) Thimmaiah Road, Tannery Road (East) Whitefield and Madhavapura (South) AT A GLANCE Total e-waste generated in India is over 1,46,180 tonnes per yr Among top ten cities in e-waste, Mumbai ranks first. Next is Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Pune, Surat and Nagpur Increased demand for products like PC, TV and mobiles has seen more e-waste generation in the country

HERES THE DUMPYARD: An e-waste collectors shop in Goripalya

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