E-WASTE

MANAGEMENT
 E-Waste Topics of Importance
 What exactly is e-waste?
 Categories and Components of E-Waste
 Dangers of E-Waste
 The sensitive nature of e-waste
 Laws and regulations.
 Stakeholders in E-Waste
 What can be done with E-Waste?
 E-Waste management initiatives (International)
 The de-manufacture and recycle process
What exactly is e-waste?
 E-Waste Items
 All types of computers and accessories.
 Cell, smart, and home phones.
 Answering machines, tapes and accessories.
 Office equipment (faxes, printers, & copiers).
 Digital Cameras & associated storage devices.
 TV’s, DVR’s, cable boxes, & video equipment.
 Audio equipment and accessories.
 Navigation devices.
 All other electronic devices & storage media.
 E-Waste Generators
 Homes & Residences.
 Commercial Businesses.
 Professional Offices.
 Financial Institutions.
 Health Care Industry.
 Large Manufacturing Industry.
 Utilities & Public Services.
 Local, State, & Federal Government.
 E-Waste in the Office and Home

Office

Hospital
Government
•PC Private Sectors (e.g.
•PC Manufacturers, Restaurants)
•Monitors
•CPU •PC
•ECG Device
•Fax Machine •Boiler
•Microscope
•Xerox Machine •Mixer
•Incubator, etc
•Scanner, etc •Signal Generator, etc

Home: Microwave, Television, Radio, Fan, Cell Phones, etc

 Background
 Estimated that technology today will be outdated within
18 months.
 Upcoming analog to digital television broadcast
conversion.
 Electronic Waste (E-Waste, Waste EEE) one of the
fastest growing waste streams all over the world
 Electric and electronic equipment contain over 1,000
different substances including toxic heavy metals and
organics which can pose serious environmental
pollution problem upon irresponsible disposal;
 Averages 1-3% of total solid waste in developed countries
 Increases by 16-28% every 5 years
 Background
 E-waste as source hazardous wastes.
 E-waste has been identified as the fastest growing
waste stream in the world; forecast to soon reach 40
million tonnes a year.
 The European Environment Agency has calculated
that the volume of e-waste is rising about three times
faster than any other form of municipal waste.
 E-waste can be an overland mine for specific metals.
 E-WASTE is A GLOBAL CRISIS to be challenged
Source World Bank 2002
In 2009 Egypt jumped to
500-1060 mobile phones
per 1000 people category.
source: www.etoxics.org
 INTERNATIONAL INITIATIVES
in E-waste Management
 GeSI (Global e-Sustainability Initiative): a global partnership of
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) companies that
promotes technologies for a sustainable development.
 StEP – an initiative of various UN organizations with the overall aim
to solve the e-waste problem. Together with prominent members from
industry, governments, international organizations, NGOs and the
science sector actively participating in StEP,
 UNESCO Computer equipment recycling guidelines for Africa
 Basel Convention
 Partnership on used and end of life Mobile Phones (MPPI)

 Partnership for Action on Computing Equipment (PACE)

 G8 3Rs Initiative; GTZ; UNEP/DTIE (IETC); SECO, etc.

 Many other initiatives by manufacturers for recycling end of life
products belong to them (corporate responsibilities; e.g HP, Canon,
…..)
 Two Main Aspects of
E-Waste Management
 Recycling and/or Reuse
 Keeping hazardous materials found in electronics

from disposal into landfills.

 Data Security
 Insuring all electronic data storage devices and

media are cleaned.

 Insuring all data storage devices and media in all

electronics are completely sanitized.

 Insuring all data sanitation is fully documented and

auditable.
 COMPONENTS OF E-WASTE
 Fe and steel
 Non-ferrous metals (Pb, Cu, Al, Au, …)
 Glass
 Plastic
 Electronic components (R, C, L, ICs…)
 Others (rubber, wood, ceramics, …)
COMPONENTS OF E-WASTE
 COMPONENTS OF E-WASTE
(Hazardous Materials)
Component Hazardous Materials
CRT Pb, As, Hg, P
LCD Hg
Fluorescent lamp Hg, P, flame retardants (FR)
Cooling system Ozone depleting substance (ODS)
Others Se, AsO3, Cd, Cr, Co, Mn, Br, Ba
 COMPONENTS OF E-WASTE
(Hazardous Materials Inside a PC)
 Cadmium in
Plastics in cables
batteries

Lead in solder joints

 E – Waste Facts
E-waste (Computers)
 Manufacturing takes at least 240 kg of fossil

fuels, 22 kg of chemicals and 1.5 tonnes of

water – more than the weight of a car
 Life span changed from 4-6 years in 1997 to 2

years in 2005 and further decreasing

 One billion in use by the end of 2008 - two

billion by 2015
 E – Waste Facts

E-waste (Mobile Phones)

 700 million obsolete phones discarded in
2005 contained 560,000 kg of lead in the
form of solder
 Average working life - 7 years but

 Worldwide average - 11 months

 Over one billion handsets in use in 2006
 DANGERS OF E-WASTE
Material Occurrence in E-waste
Beryllium copper-beryllium alloys,
(OECD 2003, springs, relays and
Taylor et al. 2003) connections;
Cadmium Contacts, switches, nickel-
cadmium (Ni-Cd) batteries,
printer inks and toners
Lead Circuit boards/ cathode ray
tubes CTR (1 – 3 kg per
CRT);
Health and Environmental Impact
 beryllium sensitization/chronic
beryllium disease
 human carcinogens
 released as beryllium oxide dust or
fume during high temperature metal
processing
 persistent and mobile in aquatic
environments (ATSDR 2000)
 damage to the kidneys and bone
toxicity, released if plastic is burned
or during high temperature metal
processing
 Risk for small children and fetuses
 Damage to the nervous system,
red blood cells, kidneys and
potential increases in high blood
pressure;
 Incineration can result in release to
the air
 DANGERS OF E-WASTE
Material Occurrence in E-waste
Mercury Lighting devices that
illuminate flat screen
displays, switches and
relays
PCBs Insulating fluids for
(polychlorinated transformers and capacitors,
biphenyls) flame-retardant plasticizers
Health and Environmental Impact
 Impacts the central nervous
system
 Land filling and incineration of flat
panel displays results in the release
to the environment
 Suppression of the immune
system, liver damage, cancer
promotion, damage to the nervous
system
 Damage to reproductive systems
 Common Health effects associated
with E-waste dumping and burning
 Pollution of ground water with heavy and poisonous metals.
 Damage to central and peripheral nervous systems, blood
systems and kidney damage.
 Affects brain development of children.
 Bioaccumulation of Hg in fishes, causes respiratory and skin
disorders.
 Hexavalent Chromium [Cr(VI)] causes asthmatic bronchitis
and DNA damage.
 Burning plastic components and cables produces dioxin
which is known to cause:
 Reproductive and developmental problems;
 Immune system damage;
 Interfere with regulatory hormones
 EFFECTS OF E-WASTE TOXINS
ON SOIL
Effects on soil:
 Toxic leachates: Hg, Cd, Pb, P

 Uncontrolled fire risk →toxic fumes

 Biologically non-degradable: Cd, HG, BFR

 EFFECTS ON ENVIRONMENT AND
HUMAN HEALTH
 When exposed to fire, metals and
other chemical substances, such
as the extremely toxic dioxins and
furans from halogenated flame
retardant products and PCB
containing condensers can be
emitted.
 The most dangerous form of
burning e-waste is the open-air
burning of plastics in order to
recover copper and other metals.
The sensitive nature of e-waste.
Electronic Data
Storage
Contains critical personal, financial,
legal, technical, operational, and
classified information.
 Almost every sector of society has a
stake in secure data destruction.
 Financial Industry
 Government Agencies
 Legal Profession
 Utilities and Public Services
 Educational Institutions
 Health Care Industry
 Insurance Industry
Stored Data Laws and
Regulations
STAKEHOLDERS IN E-WASTE
MANAGEMENT

Almost everyone is a stakeholder

Manufacturers
Recyclers
Suppliers

E-
Resellers Waste
End-users

Aggregators Collectors
Policies & Regulations

37
  E-waste recycling is presently concentrated in the
informal (unorganized) sector
 No organized collection system prevails
 Operations are mostly illegal
 Processes are highly polluting
 Recycling operations engage in:
dismantling
sale of dismantled parts
valuable resource recovery
export of processed waste for precious metal
recovery

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 High-risk backyard operation
 Non- efficient and Non-
environmentally sound technologies
 Occupational and environmental
hazards
 Loss of resources due to inefficient
processes
 Impacts vulnerable social groups-
Women, children and mmigrant
labourers
 Various legislations cover different aspects of e-waste
 The hazardous waste (management and handling ) rules, 1998 as amended
in 2008 for Toxic content – registration mandatory for recyclers
 Municipal Solid Waste Management & Handling Rules for non-Toxic
content
 Basel convention for regulating transboundary movement
 Foreign Trade policy restricts import of second-hand computers and does
not permit import of e-waste
 ‘Guidelines’ by Central Pollution Control Board ( 2008)
What are the national policies & regulations?
Policies, laws and regulations applicable for the
management of e-waste are :

The National Environmental Policy 2006

The Environment (Protection) Act 1986
The Hazardous Wastes (Management and
Handling) Rules 1989 as amended in 2003 & 2008
The E-waste (Management and Handling) Rules,
2011

41
What is NEP and how does it help in e-waste management?
A comprehensive policy published by the Ministry of
Environment & Forests that was approved by the Union
Cabinet on 18 May 2006.

NEP lays stress on:

encourage reuse and recycling
strengthening informal sector and providing them a legal
status
establish system for collection and recycling of materials to
recover resources
environmentally safe disposal of residues
new rules for ESM

42
 Guidelines for Environmentally Sound Management of E-waste’
published in March 2008 by GOI [MoEF & CPCB]
 Main Features of e-waste Guidelines
 basic guidance document recognizing fundamental principles:
 Producer Responsibility (EPR)
 RoHS (Restriction on Hazardous Substances)
 Best practices
 Insight into technologies for various levels of recycling
 Need for a separate legislation mentioned in the guidelines for effective
implementation of the principles governing the e-waste management’

43
MoEF & CPCB to publish
Implementation Guidelines to facilitate
compliance
Guidelines only for guidance
Not mandatory
Rules will prevail

44
Rules entrust responsibilities on each stakeholder in the
e-waste Value Chain:
Producers –Producer Responsibility, Extended (EPR)
& Individual (IPR) to ensure environmentally sound
management of end of use electrical and electronic
equipments.
Collection Centres - organized agencies for e-waste
collection.
Consumer and bulk consumers – responsible to return
post consumer e- waste.
Dismantler – de-manufacturing 1st step in recycling to
separate the parts for recovery
Recycler - recycling to recover valuable resources using
EST.
distinct role and responsibility for each
stakeholde…….
45
E-waste is post consumer waste according to the e-waste rules
 Producer responsible for collection of e-waste generated from the

‘end of life’ of their products to ensure that e-wastes are channelized

to registered dismantler or recycler.
 Producer to facilitate establishment collection centres for e-waste

individually or collectively
 Take back system for their ‘end of life’ product

 Recyclers/other stake holders/ an agency can set up collection

centres
 Collection centres to ensure safe storage of e-waste

 Collection centres should obtain authorization form SPCBs, maintain

records in Form 2 and file annual returns in Form 3

46
Producer of E&E equipments is responsible for:
 Collection and channelization
– e-waste from manufacture &‘end of life’ of product
 Establishment of collection centres
- individually or collectively
 Take back system
-‘end of life’ equipments individually
 Financing and organizing system
- for collection and channelization to registered recyclers.
 Create awareness
- publications & information dissemination.
 Obtain Authorization - from SPCB/CC
 Maintain Records & File Annual Returns

47
 What is Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) who is producer?
as defined in the rules
 ‘extended producer responsibility‘ (EPR) means responsibility of any

producer of electrical or electronic equipments, for their products

beyond the place of manufacture to other phases of its life cycle, in
particular, the collection and ‘end of life management’ of such products
in an environmentally sound manner.

 ‘producer’ means any person who irrespective of the selling techniques

 (i) manufactures and offers to sell E&E equip under his own brand;

or
 (ii) offers to sell under his own brand, assembled E&E equip

produced by other manufacturers/suppliers; or

 (iii) offers to sell imported E&E equip

48
 What is Individual Producer Responsibility (IPR)?
 ‘Individual producer responsibility’ (IPR) means the responsibility of

producer for its own products through the products’ entire life cycle including
the collection and ‘end-of-life management’ for its own branded electrical or
electronic equipments and its own branded historical waste.[Take-back
system]
What is Collective Producer Responsibility (CPR)?
 ‘Collective Producer Responsibility’ (CPR) means the responsibility of

producer, manufacturer, importer and other stakeholders come together as a

consortium and establish an organization to take the responsibility of the end-
of-life disposal of products manufactured, imported or assembled by them.
This organization, may called the designated as ‘Producer Responsibility
Organization (PRO)’ and will be responsible for collection and channelization
of e-waste for environmentally sound recycling.

49
The De-Manufacture and Recycle
Process
Electronic Waste Life Cycle
 Management and disposal
options
 Due to increased public,regulatory and
commercial scrutiny and also a
commensurate entrepreneur interest,there has
been a diversion from energy intensive down
cycling processes to more mature processing
systems
 This has been largely achieved through reuse
and refurbishing
 reuse
 Preventing waste in the first place is the
preferred mngt option
 This can be achieved through
repairing,upgrading used electrical equipment
 Example- adding memory to a
computer,upgrading software
 recycle
 Make use of take back programs
 Through recycling units are either reused or
dismantled for recycling.
 The silver,gold,lead and other heavy metal are
recyclable
 dispose
 The least preferred option is to landfill
electronic waste
 This should only come as a last option but care
to consult with state regulations on disposal of
any hazardous waste
Benefits of reuse (social and env)
 Diminished demand for new products and their commensurate
requirement for virgin raw material
 There is lessened need for water and energy for the associated
manufacturing
 Less packaging per unit
 Availability of tech to wider swaths of society due to greater
affordability of products
 Saved landfill space
 challenges
 When materials cannot or will not be used,
conventional recycling or disposal via landfill
will follow
 The complexity of the items to be disposed of
 cost of env sound recycling systems
 Each one of us has a role to
play!
 Need for a e-waste policy and legislation
 Encourage and facilitate organized recycling systems
 Should subsidies recycling and disposal industries
 Collect fee from manufactured/consumers for the
disposal of toxic material
 Incentive schemes for garbage collectors and general
public for collecting and handling over e-waste
 Awareness programme on e-waste for school children
and general public
 continuation
 Transparency and accountability to the public
Handling large amounts of e-waste poses risks of
toxic contamination to workers and surrounding
communities if conducted carelessly.
 Thus, the most basic criterion that employees and
citizens should rightfully expect from any recycling
operation is that it be open to public inspection.
 continuation
 General compliance with occupational health and
safety standards Observance of health and safety
standards in the workplace is important for
protecting workers from exposure to toxics whilst
handling e-waste
 Well-trained workers, who are fully protected by
the law to seek advice and take action to protect
their health and the environment without fear of
reprisal from their employer, are the most
effective environmental protection.
Key stakeholders in e-waste MGT
 Industry-manufacturers, Producers
 Product supply chain Links
 Corporate/Bulk Users
 Recyclers – Informal & Formal
 Government & Regulatory Agencies
 Municipalities
 Industry Associations
 Research Institutions & Experts
 General Public/Consumers/Users
 NGOs
 Financial Institutions
E-waste recycling-informal sector

According to MAIT-GTZ study, 2007 95% of the e-waste

recycling in India takes place in the Informal sector

 Informal sector widespread

 Have active and efficient network
 Labour intensive - cheap labour, child labour
 Manual dismantling no machines required
 Material recovery by crude methods
 Operations in small congested unsafe areas
 No personal protection equipments used
 Occupational health & safety neglected
 Adverse impact on environment and health
Dismantling e-waste (manual)

Informal sector
Copper extraction
Using Acids Burning PCBs/wires

Informal sector
E-Waste and the Informal Sector

Precious metal recovery

Hazardous work environment

Informal sector
E-waste recycling-formal sector
Present scenario
E-waste recycling units essentially dismantle, segregate, shred
Send sorted/shredded e-waste to refineries and units in the
developed nations for metal extraction recovery
Few formal recyclers are setting up end to end recycling units in
India and one such unit is in operation
Changing scenario
Formal Recycling units being set up in India which are like any
other industrial operation
Formal recyclers are responsible for environmental compliance
seeking authorizations and permissions
E-waste recycling in the formal sector are committed to corporate
social responsibility (CSR)
Formal recyclers responsible for ESM and use of EST
E-waste dismantling & shredding
(mechanical)

Formal sector
Copper extraction & recovery
Electrolytic process

Formal sector
Integration of informal & formal –
model for e- waste management
The model for e-waste management in India ideally requires
integration of the activities between the informal and formal sectors
and bring them into the mainstream of e-waste recycling activity.

Steps involved in Integration

 Agreements/MOU between the stakeholders
 Maintain entrepreneurship
 Specify activities for informal sector
 Identify activities for formal sector
 Dovetail activities of informal & formal
 Establish linkages and support systems
 Formation of associations
 Management of E-Waste

In industries management of e-waste should begin at the point

of generation.
This can be done by waste minimization techniques and by
sustainable product design. Waste minimization in industries
involves adopting:

 inventory management,
 production-process modification,
 volume reduction,
 recovery and reuse.
 Four Basic Principles – Reduce,
Reuse, Recycle & Respond

 Waste Prevention: Minimize the

Volume

 Reduce waste and pollution

 Reuse as many things as
possible
 Recycle and compost as much
waste as possible
 Chemically or biologically treat
or incinerate
 Bury what is left
 Re-use: Reuse is the environmentally preferable option for managing
older electronic equipment. Extending the life of old products minimizes
the pollution and resource consumption associated with making new
products. ( MAXIMIZE RE-USE)

 Electronic equipments which are too old and commercially & practically
not viable for reuse or is broken beyond repair, may be sent for
disassembly i.e. salvaging parts, and selling reclaimed materials.

 Several electronic equipment, such as computers, monitors, printers, and

scanners, contain materials suitable for reclamation and use in new
products. These may include plastic, glass, copper, gold, silver, and
other metals.
 E-Waste Recycling

 Equipment refurbishment and resale

 De-manufacturing and disassembly
 Recovering valuable components
 Hazardous and base metal recovery
 Hazardous component management
 e-waste Recycling
P ro d u c t
c o lle c t io n

T e s t/S o rt R e s a le /R e u s e
(P ro d u c t)

R e s a le /R e u s e
D is a s s e m b ly
(P a rts )

C a th o d e R a y tu b e s

S iz e R e d u c tio n

S e p a r a t io n b y
D is p o s a l
m a t e r ia ls

M a rk e t
 Precious Metal Recovery (Gold)
In p u ts P ro c e ss
G o ld P la te d C o n n e c to rs

R e p e a te d 2 o r 3 tim e s
N itric A c id Im m e rs io n
M e ta l
F uel C o m p o n e n ts
H e a t in g &
( C o k e , C o a l e tc ) S t r ip p in g U s e d N itric a c id
G o ld F la k e s W a te r
F u rn a c e S m o k e
W a s h in g &
N itric A c id F ilt e r in g
Precious Metal Recovery (With Mercury)
In p u ts P ro c e ss

G o ld F la k e s

R e u s e d 2 o r 3 tim e s
M e rc u ry A m a lg a m

M e rc u ry
S q u e e z in g

G o ld
U s e d N itric a c id &
N itric A c id P u rify in g V a p o u rs
W a te r

G o ld (7 0 % )
E-Waste is Stored on Pallets
E-Waste Waiting for Processing
Copy Machine Being De-
Manufactured
De-Manufactured Components
Light Scrap Metal for Recycling
Recovered Power Supplies
Recovered Circuit Boards
A Hard Drive Before Destruction
Hard Drive in 20 Ton Press
Hard Drive Positioned for
Destruction of Platters
Fatal Destruction of Hard drive
Physically Destroyed Hard
Drives
Implement Proper E-waste Disposal

“One Man’s Junk is Another Man’s Treasure” (Anon.)

E-waste Management Programme
 Step 1: Rapid Assessment of E-waste in the Country
 Step 2: Establish Multi-stakeholder Partnership for E-
waste Management
 Step 3: Implement Awareness Campaign about E-waste
Threats and Opportunities
 Step 4: Develop and Enhance capacities for
Environmental Friendly E-waste management System
 Step 5: Establish E-waste Recycle Trading System
MANAGEMENT OF E-WASTES
Inventory
Management

Production-
Process
Modification

Methods
Volume
Reduction

Recovery
and Reuse
 nt o ry
Inve ment
nage
ma
 c e s s
- pr o
ct ion o n
ro du ficati
P o d i
m
 l um e
V o
cti o n
redu
 r y a nd
ec o ve
R u s e
R e
 Conclusion
 it is important that we create a national framework for
the environmentally sound management of e-waste
including wide public awareness and education
 Conduct detailed inventories of e-waste
 Initiate pilot schemes on collection and sorting of e-
wastes,including take back schemes and schemes for
repair refurbishment and recycling