Introduction

What is e-waste
Like hazardous waste, the problem of e-waste has become an immediate and long term
concern as its unregulated accumulation and recycling can lead to major environmental
problems endangering human health. The information technology has revolutionized the way
we live, work and communicate bringing countless benefits and wealth to all its users. The
creation of innovative and new technologies and the globalization of the economy have made
a whole range of products available and affordable to the people changing their lifestyles
significantly. New electronic products have become an integral part of our daily lives
providing us with more comfort, security, easy and faster acquisition and exchange of
information. But on the other hand, it has also led to unrestrained resource consumption and
an alarming waste generation. Both developed countries and developing countries like India
face the problem of e-waste management.
The rapid growth of technology, upgradation of technical innovations and a high rate of
obsolescence in the electronics industry have led to one of the fastest growing waste streams
in the world which consist of end of life electrical and electronic equipment products. It
comprises a whole range of electrical and electronic items such as refrigerators, washing
machines, computers and printers, televisions, mobiles, i-pods, etc., many of which contain
toxic materials. Many of the trends in consumption and production processes are
unsustainable and pose serious challenge to environment and human health. Optimal and
efficient use of natural resources, minimization of waste, development of cleaner products
and environmentally sustainable recycling and disposal of waste are some of the issues which
need to be addressed by all concerned while ensuring the economic growth and enhancing the
quality of life.
The countries of the European Union (EU) and other developed countries to an extent have
addressed the issue of e-waste by taking policy initiatives and by adopting scientific methods
of recycling and disposal of such waste. The EU defines this new waste stream as Waste
Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE). As per its directive, the main features of the
WEEE include definition of EEE, its classification into 10 categories and its extent as per
voltage rating of 1000 volts for alternating current and 1500 volts for direct current. The EEE

has been further classified into components, sub-assemblies and consumables.3 Since
there is no definition of the WEEE in the environmental regulations in India, it is simply
called e-waste. E-waste or electronic waste, therefore, broadly describes loosely discarded,
surplus, obsolete, broken, electrical or electronic devices.

Composition of E-waste
E-waste consists of all waste from electronic and electrical appliances which have reached
their end- of- life period or are no longer fit for their original intended use and are destined
for recovery, recycling or disposal. It includes computer and its accessories- monitors,
printers, keyboards, central processing units; typewriters, mobile phones and chargers,
remotes, compact discs, headphones, batteries, LCD/Plasma TVs, air conditioners,
refrigerators and other household appliances.
The composition of e-waste is diverse and falls under hazardous and non-hazardous
categories. Broadly, it consists of ferrous and non-ferrous metals, plastics, glass, wood and
plywood, printed circuit boards, concrete, ceramics, rubber and other items. Iron and steel
constitute about 50% of the waste, followed by plastics (21%), non-ferrous metals (13%) and
other constituents. Non-ferrous metals consist of metals like copper, aluminium and precious
metals like silver, gold, platinum, palladium and so on. The presence of elements like lead,
mercury, arsenic, cadmium, selenium, hexavalent chromium, and flame retardants beyond
threshold quantities make e-waste hazardous in nature. It contains over 1000 different
substances, many of which are toxic, and creates serious pollution upon disposal.7 Obsolete
computers pose the most significant environmental and health hazard among the e-wastes.

E-waste generation in India

All over the world, the quantity of electrical and electronic waste generated each year,
especially computers and televisions, has assumed alarming proportions. In 2006, the
International Association of Electronics Recyclers (IAER)8 projected that 3 billion electronic
and electrical appliances would become WEEE or e-waste by 2010. That would tantamount
to an average e-waste generation rate of 400 million units a year till 2010. Globally, about 2050 MT (million tonnes) of e-wastes are disposed off each year, which accounts for 5% of all
municipal solid waste.
Although no definite official data exist on how much waste is generated in India or how
much is disposed of, there are estimations based on independent studies conducted by the

NGOs or government agencies. According to the Comptroller and Auditor- Generals (CAG)
report, over 7.2 MT of industrial hazardous waste, 4 lakh tonnes of electronic waste, 1.5 MT
of plastic waste, 1.7 MT of medical waste, 48 MT of municipal waste are generated in the
country annually.10 In 2005, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) estimated Indias
e-waste at 1.47 lakh tonnes or 0.573 MT per day. A study released by the Electronics Industry
Association of India (ELCINA) at the electronics industry expo Componex Nepcon 2009
had estimated the total e-waste generation in India at a whopping 4.34 lakh tonnes by end
2009. The CPCB has estimated that it will exceed the 8 lakh tonnes or 0.8 MT mark by 2012.
There are 10 States that contribute to 70 per cent of the total e-waste generated in the country,
while 65 cities generate more than 60 per cent of the total e-waste in India. Among the 10
largest e-waste generating States, Maharashtra ranks first followed by Tamil Nadu, Andhra
Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Delhi, Karnataka, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and
Punjab. Among the top ten cities generating e-waste, Mumbai ranks first followed by Delhi,
Bengaluru, Chennai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Pune, Surat and Nagpur. The main
sources of electronic waste in India are the government, public and private (industrial)
sectors, which account for almost 70 per cent of total waste generation.
The contribution of individual households is relatively small at about 15 per cent; the rest
being contributed by manufacturers. Though individual households are not large contributors
to waste generated by computers, they consume large quantities of consumer durables and
are, therefore, potential creators of waste. An Indian market Research Bureau (IMRB) survey
of E-waste generation at Source in 2009 found that out of the total e-waste volume in India,
televisions and desktops including servers comprised 68 per cent and 27 per cent respectively.
Imports and mobile phones comprised of 2 per cent and 1 per cent respectively. As a largescale organised e-waste recycling facility, the Attero Recycling Plant in Roorkee opened in
January 2010.
Despite 23 units currently registered with the Government of India, Ministry of Environment
and Forests/ Central Pollution Control Board, as e-waste recyclers/reprocessors, having
environmentally sound management facilities, the entire recycling process more or less still
exists in the unorganised sector. The Cobalt-60 radiation tragedy at Mayapuri in Delhi in
which one person lost his life and six persons were admitted to hospital served as a wakeup
call drawing attention to the mounting quantity of hazardous waste including e-waste in the
country while revealing systemic problems on the issue of waste disposal. The Ministry of

Environment and Forests (MoEF) has notified the Hazardous Wastes (Management, Handling
and Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2008 for effective management of hazardous wastes,
including e-waste in the country. But these rules do not apply to the radioactive wastes such
as Cobalt 60 which are covered under the Atomic Energy Act, 1962.

Electronic waste in the global context

As the fastest growing component of municipal waste across the world, it is estimated that
more than 50 MT of e-waste is generated globally every year. In other words, these would fill
enough containers on a train to go round the world once. However, since the markets in the
West have matured, it is expected to account for only 2 per cent of the total solid waste
generated in developed countries by 2010. Therefore, with increasing consumerism and an
anticipated rise in the sales of electronic products in the countries experiencing rapid
economic and industrial growth, the higher percentage of e-waste in municipal solid waste is
going to be an issue of serious concern.
A report of the United Nations predicted that by 2020, e-waste from old computers would
jump by 400 per cent on 2007 levels in China and by 500 per cent in India. Additionally, ewaste from discarded mobile phones would be about seven times higher than 2007 levels and,
in India, 18 times higher by 2020. Such predictions highlight the urgent need to address the
problem of e-waste in developing countries like India where the collection and management
of e-waste and the recycling process is yet to be properly regulated.
According to the UN Under-Secretary General and Executive Director of the United Nations
Environment Programme (UNEP), Achim Steiner, China, India, Brazil, Mexico and others
would face rising environmental damage and health problems if e-waste recycling is left to
the vagaries of the informal sector. China already produces about 2.3 million tonnes of ewaste domestically, second only to the U.S. with about three million tonnes. The EU and the
U.S. would account for maximum e-waste generation during this current decade. As per the
Inventory Assessment Manual of the UNEP, 2007, it is estimated that the total e-waste
generated in the EU is about 14-15 kg per capita or 5MT to 7MT per annum. In countries like
India and China, annual generation per capita is less than 1kg. In Europe, e-waste contributes
up to 6 million tonnes of solid waste per annum. The e-waste generation in the EU is
expected to grow at a rate of 3 per cent to 5 per cent per year. In the past, e-waste had
increased by 16 per cent to 28 per cent every five years which is three times faster than
average annual municipal solid waste generation. In the U.S., e-waste accounts for 1 to 3 per

cent of the total municipal waste generation. As per the United States Environmental
Protection Agency (USEPA), it generated 2.6 MT of e-waste in 2005, which accounted for
1.4 per cent of total wastes. Electronic waste is generated by three major sectors in the U.S.:

Individuals and small businesses;

Large businesses, institutions and governments;
Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs)

Electronic equipments, especially computers, are often discarded by the households and small
businesses not because they are broken but simply because new technology has rendered
them obsolete and undesirable. Sometimes, the new software is incompatible with the older
hardware leaving customers with no option but to buy new ones. Data from a single-day
recycling collection event revealed that more than 50 per cent of rejected computers are in
good working order, but they are discarded nonetheless to make way for the latest technology.
The equipments discarded by individuals and small businesses form part of solid waste which
gets disposed in landfills or incinerators except in the States of Massachusetts and California
where landfills are banned.
For large businesses, since it is illegal by law to dispose off computers in landfills, e-waste
goes to the re-use/re-cycling/export market. In the case of original equipment manufactures
or OEMs, e-waste is generated when units coming straight out of production do not meet
quality standards and must be disposed off. While some have their own recycling plants,
others enter into contract with recycling companies to handle their e-waste, which is often
exported.
According to the newsletter issued by the International Association of Electronics Recyclers
(IAER), used electronic equipments including household appliances and IT equipments also
get dumped in landfill sites in the United Kingdom and Japan. Estimates by the Electronics
Industry Market Research and Knowledge Network had anticipated the worldwide market for
e-waste to rise at an average annual growth rate of 8.8 per cent, from $7.2 billion in 2004 to
$11 billion in 2009. At that growth rate, it is expected to cross $17 billion by 2014/15 with ewaste generation reaching 40-70 MT per year by the same period. Besides, the demand for
metals from rapidly growing economies, especially India, China and Brazil has been
providing an impetus to the global demand for metals. The recycled metal market has been
predicted to grow at an average annual growth rate of 8.1 per cent in 2010 and that of
recycled plastics at the rate of 10.2 per cent.

A major reason for the rapid generation of e-waste and the resulting growth of the recycling
market can be found in the high rate of obsolescence in the electronics market. Most
electronic goods, especially in the West, have very short lifespan. Such goods are routinely
replaced at least every two years, and then either simply discarded or exported to developing
countries where there is still a demand for second-hand merchandise. In a programme called
Following the Trail of Toxic E-waste, 60 Minutes of CBS News.com traced the route of
toxic electronic waste illegally shipped from America to China via Hong Kong. In this
programme, Allen Hershkowitz, a senior scientist and authority on waste management at the
U.S. Natural Resources Defence Council, was quoted saying that the problem with e-waste
was that it was the fastest-growing component of the municipal waste stream worldwide.
When asked what he meant by fastest-growing, he said that about 1,30,000 computers were
thrown out every day in the United States and over 100 million cell phones were thrown out
annually.
Recycling facilities exist in developed countries and stringent measures have been taken by
the Governments regarding disposal of e-waste. However, there are difficulties in
implementing regulations and dealing with e-waste owing to increased activism by
environmentalists and the high cost of recycling. Despite concerns on the issues of fraudulent
traders and environmentally unsound practices, it has been easier and cheaper for these
countries to ship e-wastes to the developing countries where access to and recycling of such
discarded electronic goods make a good economic option. For both sides, it is profitable or a
win-win situation. The only difference being that the rich country is dumping toxic waste on
the poorer country. This can be further elaborated by giving an example of dismantling of
ships, which involves the process by which end-of-life ships are converted into steel and
other recyclable items, and the remainder is then disposed of. These operations are performed
mainly in South Asia, with India, Bangladesh and Pakistan currently occupying 70-80 per
cent of the market. The industry offers a valuable end- of-life solution to old ships although
there are concerns about the environmental, health and safety standards employed, especially
in South Asia, as the industry has historically gravitated towards low labour cost countries
with weak regulations on occupational health, safety and the environment.

Growth of electrical and electronic industry in India

A brief history
Our first Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru had said in 1961 that the pace of change in
the world was greater due to new avenues opening out with the application of electronics,
atomic energy, etc. He then observed that the nation or the community which kept pace with
those developments could keep pace with the rest of the world. In fact, initiated and
controlled by the Government, the Electronics Industry in India took off around 1965 with an
orientation towards space and defence technologies.
It was followed by developments in consumer electronics mainly with transistor radios,
black & white televisions, calculators and other audio products. Successive Prime Ministers
laid emphasis on electronics for industrial growth and progress and for the all round
modernization and advancement of our nation. It was during Prime Minister Smt. Indira
Gandhis tenure that the Electronics Commission composed of scientists and engineers was
set up for the development of what she described as a vital industry. It was during Prime
Minister Rajiv Gandhis tenure that electronics received much more serious attention
followed by concrete programme of action to unleash a countrywide electronics revolution.
While inaugurating the seminar on Investment Opportunities on Electronics on 21 February
1985, in New Delhi, he remarked that electronics was critical to Indias growth.
He stated that India missed the industrial revolution which multiplied several folds the power
of human beings to carry out diverse activities. Regretting that India required almost three
hundred years to catch up with that revolution, he maintained that the second revolution that
is the electronics revolution or the computer revolution was about to by-pass India because
we could not remain tuned to it in time. He, therefore, underlined the necessity of running
behind it and joining it to use its unprecedented power for taking India to twenty first century.
Exuding confidence that India was capable of doing it, he stated that application of
electronics would make revolutionary impact on every segment of the industry and in every
field of human activity and society. He, for the first time, introduced computers to India on a
large scale and established several technology missions one of which was on
telecommunication.

Such

forward

looking

initiatives

ushered

in

computer

and

telecommunication revolution across the country, quickening the pace of work and providing
connectivity at a faster pace.
The period between 1984 and 1990, which has been called as the golden period, witnessed
continuous and rapid growth in the electronics industry. Since the 1990s, the Indian economy

moved away from being tightly regulated by the Government to the regime of liberalization
and opening up to the global economy. The economic crisis triggered by the Gulf War in
1991, put pressure on the electronics industry but developments continued with digitalization
in all sectors and the software boom in the mid-1990s. In 1997, the Information Technology
Agreement (ITA) was signed at the World Trade Organization (WTO) whereby India
eliminated all customs duties on the Information Technology (IT) hardware by 2005.
Indian economy has witnessed significant growth in the last two decades. The IT sector has
contributed significantly to the overall economic growth. In recent years, the electronic
industry has been growing very rapidly. The electronics market in India jumped from US$
11.5 billion in 2004 to US$ 32 billion in 2009 making it one of the fastest growing electronics
market worldwide with the potential to reach US$150 billion by 2010. Indias low
manufacturing costs, skilled labour, raw materials, availability of engineering skills and
opportunity to meet demand in the populous Indian market have contributed significantly to
facilitate the growth of the electronics industry. Besides, Indias, large and growing middle
class of 320-340 million has disposable income for consumer goods.
India, in the last couple of decades, has also been vastly influenced by the culture of
consumerism. The application of electronics related technology has been very wide spread in
all sectors. Coupled with the rapid pace of industrialization, Personal Computers (PCs)
desktops and notebooks, televisions and mobile phones and other manufacturing items like
refrigerators have experienced high growth and even faster replacement cycle. The
electronics manufacturing industry has emerged as one of the most innovative industries in
the world over. It is constantly engaged in creating and utilizing new technologies. This has
also partly contributed to what is called inbuilt product obsolescence. This has resulted into
an ever increasing quantity of electronics and electrical appliances being discarded, as it is
often cheaper to buy new product than to repair or upgrade a broken or obsolete one.

Computer and computer components segment

The electronics industry is driven mainly by the computer and computer component sectors
with as much as a fifth of its revenues coming from sales of Personal Computers. The huge
scale of demand in the market can be observed from the sale of the P.Cs.
(desktops and notebooks) in the period 20032009 as given in the table below:

Personal computers sales have seen a major jump in the last few years from around units of
3.1 million in 2003-04 to 7.3 million in 2007-08 approximately. It dropped to 6.7 million
units in 2008-09 during the recession but the industry once again picked up in 2009-10. The
total sales of personal computers for the quarter October - December 2009 were 2 million (20
lakh) units, registering a growth of 42 per cent over the same period in the previous fiscal
year. In the same quarter, the sales of desktops stood at 1.35 million (13.5 lakh) units, while
netbooks and notebooks taken together recorded a consumption of 0.66 million (6.6 lakh)
units growing 27 per cent and 90 per cent respectively, on a year-on-year basis.33 Overall PC
sales for 2009-10 are expected to cross 7.3 million (73 lakh) units, registering a 7 per cent
annual growth. A shift in the governance systems with e-governance initiatives adopted by
the Central and the State Governments, the telecom, banking and education sectors, Small
and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and IT enabled services have been a major factor leading to
the vibrancy of consumption in the information technology market. The third quarter of 200910 had also seen an increase in consumption in households and smaller towns. Today, the
small cities constitute close to 50 per cent of the sales of personal computers. Region wise,
the personal computers market has grown in the eastern and western regions indicating a
progressive application of technology in governance and the common persons life.

The Consumer Electronics (Television) segment

In the television segment, the advent of the Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) and plasma
screens have altered the concept of the television for viewers. Better technology has meant
improved picture quality and a diminishing price difference between the traditional CRT
(Cathode Ray Tube) television and the new flat screen LCD television. It has resulted in the
popularity of the latter. Moreover, increasing disposable income and the price decline
influenced by robust demand has been factoring the growth in this segment. A phenomenal

rise in the sale volume of the flat panel colour television by 70.9 per cent in 2007 as against
just over 33 per cent of the CRT colour television demonstrates this new trend.
Further, according to the retail market research agency ORG- GfK data for the five month
period January to May 2007, the total CTV (Colour Television) sales touched the 42,54, 700units mark in terms of volume and the Rs. 3,975.48 crore mark in terms of value. The flat
panel CTV segment formed 64.3 per cent of the entire market, worth Rs. 2,545.81 crore with
a total of 27,34,000 units sold during the period. The conventional curve CTV segment stood
at 33.5 per cent of the whole market, worth Rs. 813.28 crore (14, 26,600 units).
According to a report on Indian Consumer Durables Industry by the Corporate Catalyst India,
the sales trend of television indicated that sales would go up from 8,867,000 units in 2005 to
11,795,000 units in 2010. According to Display Search, a leading global provider of
consumer and retail market research, globally, overall TV shipments were expected to rise
from 205 million units in 2008 to 218 million units by 2010.\

The telecommunications segment

The telecom industry in India has also witnessed an unprecedented growth in recent times
owing to the subscription and developmental potential of its large population. The total
telephone (landline and wireless) subscriber base had reached 653.92 million by the end of
May 2010. Currently, there are an estimated 617.53 million mobile phone users compared to
36.39 million fixed line subscribers in India. In April 2010 alone, 16.90 million subscribers
were added in the wireless (cell phone) segment. It is estimated that India would overtake
China to become the worlds largest mobile telecommunications market by the year 2013. It
is predicted that by then, the teledensity would shoot up from 55.38 per cent in May 2010 to
75 per cent and the total mobile subscriber base would be a staggering 1.159 billion!
The cell phone or mobile users have increased in number very rapidly in India and this
momentum will be maintained in the coming years. However, the waste generated by this
product is physically less in volume due to the nature of the product. In the
telecommunications segment, due to the increasing use of fiber optic technology to replace
copper for faster transmission of data and for expanding the bandwidth of service networks,
the optical components markets are also expected to rise from a market worth at $3.8 billion
in 2008 to $11.3 billion by 2015.

Changing consumption patterns

The global recession in 2008-09 had resulted in the electronic manufacturing services
industry diminishing by 11 per cent in 2009. But the resurgence of consumer spending in the
latter part of 2009 led analysts to believe that the electronic industry is going to enjoy a
compound annual growth rate of 8 per cent in the period 2010- 2014. It is expected that India
and other emerging economies will present some of the best markets for consumer spending
in 2010 and beyond. Such a prediction would imply that obsolescence would be an ever
recurring factor in the growth dynamics of the electronic manufacturing industry. The
generation of such obsolete electronic items or e-waste is therefore, likely to increase
manifold in proportion to the growth in the electronics industry.
Most of the IT products, especially computers and mobile phones, have a short lifespan. The
products are not designed for longevity and become obsolete in no time. The most commonly
used PC, which earlier had a lifespan of seven years, today has an average lifespan of two to
five years. The shorter lifespan of products is a marketing strategy to maintain the pace of
consumption and production processes. Therefore, new technologies and upgrades come
into the market almost every 18 months influencing consumption patterns.
Further, the availability of choices, changing pace of life, rapid urbanization, and increased
purchasing capacity of the middle class have all contributed to the growth of the electrical
and consumer durable industry. The increasing affordability and availability of these products
leads to a gradual penetration into smaller towns which are now showing impressive sales of
consumer electronics. Some of the consumer products like refrigerators, televisions and so on
were once a lifetime purchase. But today consumers outgrow older models as new products
come into the market and find that it is easier and cheaper to buy new electronic equipment
than repair an old product. Due to the extreme rate of obsolescence, the electronic industry is
producing much higher volumes of waste. This has been compounded by the change in the
consumption pattern in India which has also contributed to the large volumes of e-waste
being generated in the country.
Given below is the quantity of e-waste generated by Indian states according to an assessment
study conducted by the International Resource Group Systems South Asia Pvt. Ltd (IRGSSA)
in 2005. The study is primarily based on the average national penetration levels of computer
in the population.

Quantity of WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) generated in Indian

States

The State of Maharashtra tops the list generating 20,270 tonnes of e-waste annually. The
other States leading in the generation of e-waste are Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar
Pradesh and West Bengal

Environment concerns and Health hazards

Following Supreme Court directions,43 the states have notified a set of hazardous waste
laws and built a number of hazardous waste disposal facilities in the last ten years. However,
the CAG report found that over 75 per cent of state bodies were not implementing these
laws.44 According to the MoEF, presently there are 28 operational Treatment, Storage and
Disposal Facilities (TSDFs) for hazardous waste management in the country. The rising
quality of life and high rates of resource consumption patterns has had an unintended and
negative impact on the environment through the generation of wastes far beyond the handling
capacities of governments and agencies.
Added to the burden of the management of hazardous municipal waste, the management of
huge and growing quantities of electronic waste is emerging as one of the most important
environmental problems of developing countries, especially India. Approximately 2 lakh
tonnes of e-waste was generated in the country in 2007. With the prediction that nearly 8 lakh
tonnes of e-waste would be generated by the end of 2012, e-waste has become more of a
problem than all other wastes because of the very significant health and environment hazards
associated with it. E-waste is getting generated at a 10 per cent annual growth rate which is
one of the highest in the world. Indias environment therefore, faces a serious threat.
The problems associated with electronic waste are now being recognized. E-waste is highly
complex to handle due to its composition. It is made up of multiple components some of
which contain toxic substances that have an adverse impact on human health and
environment if not handled properly. Often, these problems arise out of improper recycling
and disposal methods. This underlines the need for appropriate technology for handling and
disposal of these chemicals.

Pollutants in e-waste
Pollutants or toxins in e-waste are typically concentrated in circuit boards, batteries, plastics,
and LCDs (liquid crystal displays). Given below is a table showing the major pollutants
occurring in waste electrical and electronic equipments:

Pollutants and their occurrence in waste electrical and electronic equipment

Impact of hazardous substances on health and environment

The waste from electronic products include toxic substances such as cadmium and lead in the
circuit boards; lead oxide and cadmium in monitor cathode ray tubes (CRTs); mercury in
switches and flat screen monitors; cadmium in computer batteries; polychlorinated biphenyls
in older capacitors and transformers; and brominated flame retardants on printed circuit
boards, plastic casings, cables and PVC cable insulation that releases highly toxic dioxins and
furans when burned to retrieve copper from the wires.48 Many of these substances are toxic
and carcinogenic. The materials are complex and have been found to be difficult to recycle in
an environmentally sustainable manner even in developed countries.
Listed in the table below are the harmful elements in the compositions of electrical and
electronic appliances that can be hazardous to health and environment:

Most electronic goods contain significant quantities of toxic metals and chemicals like
mercury, which is currently being phased out in the developed countries. Mercury is mobile
and poisonous in any form - inorganic, organic or elemental. Its organic compound methyl
mercury has been scientifically proved to be a neuro-toxicant that damages the brain. It is
geno-toxic too as it passes through the placental and the blood- brain barrier, putting the
foetus at risk. Mercury is known to cause severe and permanent damage to the central
nervous system, lungs and kidneys. It can trigger depression and suicidal tendencies and
cause paralysis, Alzheimers disease, speech and vision impairment, allergies, hypospermia
and impotence. Mercury bio-accumulates (builds up in organisms) and biomagnifies (moves
up the food chain). According to the United Nations Environment Programmes (UNEP)
Global Mercury Assessment Report, even minuscule increases in methyl mercury exposures
can affect the cardiovascular system.
E-waste typically contains complex combinations of materials and components down to
microscopic levels. The wastes are broken down in not just for recycling but for the
recoverable materials such as plastic, iron, aluminium, copper and gold. However, since ewaste also contains significant concentration of substances that are hazardous to human
health and the environment, even a small amount of e-waste entering the residual waste will
introduce relatively high amount of heavy metals and halogenated substances. Such harmful
substances leach into the surrounding soil, water and air during waste treatment or when they
are dumped in landfills or left to lie around near it. Sooner or later they would adversely
affect human health and ecology.
Unless suitable safety measures are taken, these toxic substances can critically affect the
health of employees and others in the vicinity who manually sort and treat the waste by
entering their body

through respiratory tracts,

through the skin, or
through the mucous membrane of the mouth and the digestive tract.

Therefore, the health impact of e-waste is evident. There is no doubt that it has been linked to
the growing incidence of several lethal or severely debilitating health conditions, including
cancer, neurological and respiratory disorders, and birth defects. This impact is found to be
worse in developing countries like India where people engaged in recycling e-waste are
mostly in the unorganized sector, living in close proximity to dumps or landfills of untreated

e-waste and working without any protection or safeguards. Many workers engaged in these
recycling operations are the urban poor and unaware of the hazards associated with them. For
instance, such recycling activities lead to the deterioration of local drinking water which can
result in serious illnesses. It was found that a river water sample from the Lianjiang river near
a Chinese recycling village had lead levels that were 2400 times higher than the World
Health Organization Drinking Water Guidelines thereby involving a serious health hazard.

Dealing with e-waste

Currently, around the world, the volume of obsolete computers and other e-wastes
temporarily stored for recycling or disposal is growing at an alarming rate. The generation of
huge quantity of electronic waste presents an enormous environmental and health hazard to
any community. This is best indicated by the table below which shows the amount of waste
that 500 million computers can create.
How much waste is in 500 million computers?

There are basically four ways in which e-waste has been treated till date. But none has been
found to be fully satisfactory. The most common one has been storing e-wastes in landfills,
but it is replete with all the dangers of leaching described earlier. The hazardous effects are
far worse in the older or less stringently maintained landfills or dumpsites. In the US, about
70 per cent of heavy metals (including mercury and cadmium) found in landfills come from
electronic discards. Because of its hazardous nature, dumping in landfills have been banned
in most of the states in the US and European Union.
Another method commonly used has been to incinerate or burn the goods concerned, but this
process releases heavy metals such as lead, cadmium and mercury into the atmosphere.

Municipal incinerators have been some of the largest point sources for dioxins in the US and
Canadian environments and of heavy metal contamination of the atmosphere.
Reusing and recycling are the other ways of dealing with e-wastes. They have been preferable
because they increase the lifespan of the products and therefore imply less waste over time.
Re-use constitutes direct second hand use, or use after slight modifications are made to the
original functioning equipment like memory upgrades, etc. However, they end up as waste
eventually as they have limited life span. The reuse of second-hand electronic goods in the
developing world including India falls in this category, where the waste ends up locally and
where there is no adequate facility and competence to deal with them appropriately.
While recycling appears to be a safe method to utilize or dispose e-wastes, it can be a
misleading characterization of disparate practices-including dismantling, shredding, burning,
exporting, etc. which are mostly unregulated and often create additional hazards itself.
Recycling of hazardous wastes, even under the best of circumstances, has little
environment benefit as it simply moves the hazards into secondary products that eventually
have to be disposed of. One view says that unless the goal is to redesign the product to use
non- hazardous materials, recycling may be a false solution. On the other hand, the Toxics
Link, NGO based in Delhi holds that recycling isnt just good for the environment but also
good business practice. Recycling is therefore an important solution, especially if we consider
that e-waste contains many valuable and rare materials.

Global trade in hazardous waste

Among all the international agreements, the Basel Convention on the Control of the Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Waste and Their Disposal is the most comprehensive
global environmental agreement on hazardous and other wastes. It was adopted in 1989 and
came into force in 1992 for the purpose of protecting human health and the environment
against the adverse effects resulting from the generation, management, transboundary
movement and disposal of hazardous and other wastes. Originally, it did not mention e-waste,
but later it addressed the issues of electronic waste along with end-of-life ships at the
Conference of the Parties of the Basel Agreement in late 2006. Currently, electronic waste,
mobile phones, Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) and compounds used in industry as heat
exchange fluids, in electric transformers and capacitors are among the wastes regulated by the
Basel Convention. Many of the global e-waste exports, therefore, are in contrary to the Basel
Convention.

Rising illegal e-waste exports

In August 2006, when the Abidjan Hazardous Wastes Crisis56 exposed the occurrence of
illegal hazardous waste exports from Europe, the UNEP Executive Director, Achim Steiner
stated: As global trade flows expand and tough domestic controls raise the costs of
hazardous wastes disposal in developed countries, the opportunities and incentives for illegal
trafficking of wastes will continue to grow. It is an affirmation of the rising trend in the
export of hazardous wastes by fraudulent means in global trade.
Many studies have confirmed and revealed the danger posed by many wastes, their toxicity,
carcinogenicity and other characteristics harmful to the human health and environment. This
awareness has been the basis of global action leading to the tightening of laws and
regulations. This has, in turn, triggered an increase in the cost of hazardous waste disposal
through safer means compelling many countries to search for more economically viable ways
of disposing waste abroad. As a result, many developed countries, which are able to
circumvent the national legislations, export hazardous wastes including electronic wastes to
the developing countries which are having neither the knowledge of the hazardous nature or
having rudimentary knowledge, nor the capacity to dispose off the wastes safely. Normally, a
computer recycler in the U.S., for instance, would scan the incoming electronic waste
materials for its most valuable components and probably sell them in a store or to specially
brokers. The rest of the material would be broken down and sorted according to the type of

waste (eg. circuit boards, wires and cables, plastics, cathode ray tubes (CRTs), and nonrecyclables). These are sold to the brokers who then ship them mainly to China or the South
Asian countriesIndia, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Alternatively, the e-waste materials are
sometimes simply sold off in bulk without any separation whatsoever. E-waste brokering is
an aggressive and competitive business and buyers for all kinds of e-waste for the Asian
market are always available.

Main factors in global waste trade economy

Like most waste trade, e-waste export to the developing countries is governed by brute global
economics in which market forces, if left unregulated, dictates that the toxic waste will
always run downhill on an economic path of least resistance. Illegal export becomes
possible when the environment and occupational regulations are non-existent, minimal, lax or
not well-enforced, as they are in some developing countries. Low labour costs in these
countries also provide the impetus for the export in wastes. For instance, labour cost in China
is $1.50 per day.
In addition, exporting e-waste is more lucrative for the exporter country than recycling or
disposing it within the country. For instance, waste traders in Europe or USA have to pay US
$20 to recycle a computer safely in their countries while they can sell it at half the cost to the
informal traders in developing countries. Again, while it costs Rs. 12,000 to recycle a tonne
of rubbish after segregation in the U.K., shipping the rubbish to India costs just about Rs.
2,800.
The U.S. produced five times more hazardous waste in 2002 (265 million tonnes) than it did
in 1975 (57 million tonnes). The cost of managing such waste within the country would be
enormous depending on the toxicity and reactivity of the substances. Thus, it would be more
economical to ship toxic wastes to the developing countries when the cost is negligible.
Considering its cost- effectiveness, export is a clandestine option chosen by some companies
in the industrialized countries. The illegal exports are mostly justified as charity or as
recycling. Through these methods, obsolete devices find their way from the industrialized
countries to the developing countries where they can be used for a few more years. For
instance, in 2005, out of nearly 5 million Personal Computers in India, 1.38 million were
either model 486s (about eight years old by 2005) or even older.62 Reuse or recycling may
prolong the life span of a product but sooner or later, it would find its way into the waste
mainstream. Therefore, while the developed countries legally evade the problem of waste

disposal, the developing countries are left to reckon with the ultimate problem of waste
disposal.

Waste trading as a quintessential part of electronics recycling

Importing waste is no doubt a lucrative economy. The main objective behind the import of
used electronics is the recovery of valuable metals and elements that are contained in
electronic waste, including steel, aluminium, copper, tin, nickel, etc. which are in bulk;
cadmium and mercury which are in smaller amounts; and barium, nickel, gold, titanium,
cobalt, palladium, manganese, silver and platinum, etc. which are in traceable amounts. These
various commodities provide useful raw material feedstock in the manufacture of new
products. The largest market of a non-working equipment or e-waste is for the circuit boards
that are rich in precious metals, i.e. silver, gold, palladium and platinum. Sound management
practices for the recovery of these elements are debatable. However, export and import trade
has become an essential aspect of the electronics recycling.
Moreover, many of the markets for processed plastics and other raw materials derived from
end-of-life electronics equipment are also outside of the U.S. In fact, there are no smelters for
copper or for the recovery of precious metals from circuit boards in the U.S. The five primary
copper and precious metal smelters in the world are located in Canada, Belgium, Sweden,
Germany and Japan. There are no Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) glass furnaces in North America
and there are less than 20 worldwide. There are approximately 15 in Asia (e.g. South Korea,
Malaysia, India, Thailand, Singapore and China) and one in Poland. As the demand for the
CRT glass cullet remains strong, the number of glass furnaces continues to be inadequate and
insufficient. The challenge is further complicated by the Government restrictions.

Free trade agreements as a means of waste trading

A muted aspect of the global trade in waste which has raised some concerns is that developed
countries like Japan are making full use of the Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) or so- called
Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) to export their waste to the developing world.
Often involved in the EPA arrangements are unspoken quid-pro quo deals such as the
Philippines promised access to domestic and nursing labour markets in Japan, or Thailand
getting a package mass transit investment for Bangkok.
Since 2004, the Governments of Japan and Thailand have been formally negotiating an FTA
that seeks to eliminate tariffs on an unprecedented list of Japanese hazardous waste exports to

Thailand. The latter would have to accept waste, including slag, residues from incinerated
municipal waste, chemical and allied industries and hospital waste. Other industrialized
countries which have been exporting waste to the South-east Asian countries including
Thailand, Philippines and Indonesia through existing loopholes that permit some forms of
waste being shipped for recycling include the United States, Australia, Britain, New Zealand,
Canada and South Korea.
It is reported that Japan and the EU are currently negotiating a similar FTA with India which
could result in enormous increase in the import of waste severely hampering environmental
safeguard measures. A leaked portion of the negotiation text of the FTA between the EU and
India has caused some apprehension. The leaked text of the India-EU FTA phrases a new
name for waste. It mentions that non- new goods shall be understood to include notably used
and remanufactured goods and that non-new goods would not have any restrictions such
as import or export tariffs. Thus, import of waste could be treated just like import of fresh
products.
The growing pressure on the developing countries to import waste through bilateral or free
trade agreements is a cause of serious concern as it encourages the business of recycling
wastes. It could also override the existing national and international laws against the
hazardous waste import, especially the Basel Convention and its global Ban Amendment
forbidding toxic waste exports to the developing countries. For instance, despite the
international ban, the U.K. could export nearly 23,000 MT of electronic waste illegally in
2003 to parts of South- east Asia, India and China.

Import of hazardous e-waste in India

India is one of the largest waste importing countries in the world. All types of wastes are
imported into the country, in the form of cheap raw materials including hazardous and toxic
wastes. Data released by the Customs Department reveal imports of even prohibited wastes
like clinical waste, incineration ash, municipal waste and e-waste, all of which exceed 50
lakh tonnes annually. In 2009, India generated 5.9 million tonnes of hazardous waste
domestically and imported 6.4 million tonnes.69 It generates about 3,50,000 tonnes of
electronic waste every year and imports another 50,000 tonnes.
So far, India has been the destination of the hazardous and industrial wastes like mercury,
electronic and plastic wastes from the United States; asbestos from Canada; defective steel

and tin plates from the E.U., Australia and the U.S.; toxic waste oil from the United Arab
Emirates, Iran and Kuwait; zinc ash, residues and skimmings, lead waste and scrap, used
batteries and waste and scrap of metals such as cadmium, chromium, cobalt, antimony,
hafnium and thallium from Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom,
Belgium and Norway. These wastes contain toxic components which are damaging to the
public health and environment.
New draft rules on the import and the management of e-waste are currently being
considered. Till the rules are notified, the Hazardous Wastes (Management, Handling and
Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2008 regulate the export- import trade or transboundary
movements of hazardous wastes including e-waste. According to these Rules, import of
hazardous wastes for disposal is not permitted. However, import of waste is permitted only
for reuse, recycling or reprocessing. Monitoring of units recycling hazardous wastes is the
responsibility of the State Pollution Control Board or the Pollution Control Committee in a
Union Territory. The Rules also require all import consignments to be accompanied by a
movement document and a test report from an accredited laboratory or a pre-shipment
inspection certificate from a recognized agency.
The proposed e-waste rules, 2011 do not address the issue of import/export of e-waste. The
transboundary movement of hazardous waste including e-waste is regulated by the Hazardous
Waste Rules, 2008. Import of e-waste can be considered for actual users only with the
permission of Ministry of Environment and Forests and licence from Directorate General of
Foreign Trade.

Indias stand on liberalizing import rules

Global trade in remanufactured products has already crossed $100 billion. Like other Asian
countries, India has also felt the pressure from the developed countries to liberalize its import
rules to allow access to its markets for their re- manufactured goods. It is argued by the
countries like U.S., Switzerland and Japan that promoting trade in re-manufactured goods
helps both the developed and the developing countries by increasing access to low cost,
superior quality products while helping solid waste management and encouraging transfer of
technology and skills. But India is apprehensive that it could lead to a deluge of import of
low-quality cheap goods and actually amount to transfer of waste from the developed to the
developing countries. Thus, it has opposed suggestion by some developed countries for more
liberal trade in remanufactured goods or refurbished old products apprehending that it could

harm the countrys domestic industry and also have adverse environmental ramifications.
Agreeing with the Governments stand on the issue, Amit Mitra, Secretary-General of the
Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), has been quoted as
saying, Unrestricted imports of remanufactured goods would adversely impact our domestic
manufacturing sector and also have the risk of diluting safety standards and dumping of ewaste.

Loopholes in legislations
However, some provisions contained in some specific policies enable import of e-waste. For
instance, Indias EXIM (export-import) policy allows import of the secondhand computers
not more than 10 years old, besides letting computers in as donations. The Foreign Trade
(Development and Regulation) Act, 1992 provides for import of computers and peripherals
from zones which have been set up primarily for export, i.e. EOU (Export Oriented Units),
EPZ (Exports Processing Zones), STP (Software Technology Parks) and EHTP (Electronics
Hardware Technology Parks) at a zero custom duty. These computers can be donated to the
recognized non-commercial educational institutions, registered charitable hospitals, public
libraries, public-funded research and development establishments and organizations of the
Government of India and State/ UT Governments.
Moreover, there is no Exim code for trade in second-hand computers for donation purpose or
for resale. Both second hand and new computers are placed under the same EXIM code in the
Indian Customs Tariff Act allowing exporters to club new computers with the old ones.
Besides, the Directorate-General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) rules are flexible to interpretation
enabling the Customs Authorities to take on- the- spot decisions and provide rules exemption.
Thus, if a consignment of second hand computers is found without a license, traders manage
to get their shipment released by paying a penalty. Importers also escape full penalty by an
under-assessment of illegally imported goods.
Such provisions in the law can be misused by the developed countries to export hazardous ewaste to the country. In the new draft rules on e-waste, Rule 16 in Chapter VI says that every
producer, distributor collection centre, refurbisher, dismantler, recycler, consumer or bulk
consumer shall not import used electrical and electronic equipment or components in India
for use unless it is imported for the purpose of repair or refurbishment or to fulfill obligations
under the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR). The fact that e-waste could still be
imported under the pretext of metal scrap and second-hand electrical appliances have been a

matter of serious concern. As per the proposed e-waste rules, 2011, the clause for import of
used electrical and electronic equipment in India for use has been deleted. However, as per
the EXIM Policy of Ministry of Commerce import of second hand computers including
personnel computers/lap tops and refurbished/ re-conditioned spares is restricted76.

Porous Ports and lack of checking facilities

Among all ports, the Mumbai Port Trust and the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust have been
found to have the largest amount of hazardous goods lying around.77 Much of the global
waste which is imported into India and find their way into the ports is labelled as waste or
mixed waste paper consignments. Customs officials are unable to check every container
because of shortage of men and machinery and resort to random checks.
Of the 12 major ports and 14 intermediate ports in India, the Jawaharlal Nehru Port at Nhava
Sheva has two scanning machines. It is the largest port in India, handling close to 50 per cent
of the countrys port traffic. More than a million containers arrive at the port and the scanners
have limitations. If cobalt-60, a radioactive substance, is packed in a lead box, the scanners
would detect the lead only because the metal blocks radiation from cobalt-60. Besides,
beaches and small ports have also grown to be hubs for illegal import of the hazardous waste.

Procedure of importing e-waste

The standard procedure followed for importing a consignment to India involves an importer,
an exporter, an agency registered and notified by the Directorate-General of Foreign Trade, a
bank and the customs department at the port. First, the importer is required to get a preinspection certificate of the import material by a registered agency, which could be an Indian
or a foreign company. After the agency issues the certificate, a bill detailing the number of
containers, excise duty classification and product details is prepared. Thereafter, the
consignment is shipped. When it reaches India, the customs officials at the port check the
certificate, levy a customs duty on the product as specified in the Central Excise Tariff Act
and release the consignment to the importer.
The e-waste trade is a thriving business in India with strategic port cities like Singapore and
Dubai serving as transit centres in the e-waste trade route. E-waste from Australia, North
America, South Korea and Japan is received in Singapore and dispatched again to the
importing Asian countries including India. Dubai also serves as a centre where scrap and
wastes of all kinds from U.S.A., Europe and the West Asian countries are collected and re-

exported. India is a major buyer from Dubai. The Dubai based exporters are well aware of the
Indian domestic scrap market such that prices of any scrap are kept at par with the Indian
market price.
The transboundary movements of hazardous wastes, including e-waste are regulated under
the Hazardous Wastes Rules, 2008. As per these Rules, import of e-waste is permitted to
actual users in the country with permission of MoEF and licence issued by Directorate
General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) for recycling or reprocessing only. Import of e-waste by
traders is not permitted80.

Illegal waste imports seized in ports

India annually imports approximately 3.5 million metric tonnes of scrap metal worth Rs.
5,500 crores, entering the country at an average of 500 container loads daily. It is unloaded at
any of the major and minor ports along the coast and transported to the Inland Container
Depots throughout the country from where they enter a flourishing grey market.81 The
Custom officials at regular intervals have intervened successfully and seized hazardous goods
entering the ports. In 2009, nine containers of hazardous waste imported from Malaysia,
Saudi Arabia and Barcelona by three different companies in Tamil Nadu were caught at the
port of Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu.
In early 2010, twenty containers of hazardous waste from Greece and Reunion, a French
colony, imported by a paper factory in Tamil Nadu were sent back from the Tuticorin Port. As
recently as in August, 2010, more than 120 tonnes of e- waste in eight containers and
imported from various countries by different companies were seized in Chennai. Of the total
five consignments, one was from Australia, one from Canada, two from Korea and one from
Brunei. Subsequent examination of the goods revealed that there were very old, used and
unusable computer monitors, CPUs and processors, control panels, electrical motor parts,
printers and keyboards.

A large proportion of the computer monitors were found to be more than ten years old and
clearly meant for recycling. These imports were found to be in direct violation of the
provisions of the Customs Act, 1962 read with the Hazardous Waste (Management, Handling
and Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2008.

E-waste economy in the unorganized sector

India has the label of being the second largest e-waste generator in Asia. According to a
MAIT GTZ estimate,83 India generated 330,000 lakh tonnes of e-waste in 2007, which is
equivalent of 110 million laptops. More than 90 per cent of the e-waste generated in the
country ends up in the unorganized market for recycling and disposal. The unorganized sector
mainly consists of the urban slums of the metros and mini-metros, where recycling operations
are carried out by the unskilled employees using the most rudimentary methods to reduce
cost. A study by the Basel Action Network (BAN) in partnership with the Toxic Link reveals
that e-waste is received and processed in India in similar manner as is done in China, or the
condition could be even worse.
The unorganised sector consists of an assortment of small and informal businesses not
governed by any stringent health and environmental regulations. Workers face dangerous
working conditions as they may be without protection like gloves or masks. Released gases,
acid solutions, toxic smoke and contaminated ashes are some of the most dangerous threats
for the workers and for the local environment.
Many workers function from homes to reprocess waste, further exposing themselves, their
families and the environment to dangerous toxins. For instance, to extract metals from circuit
boards, gas torches are used to heat a board just enough to melt the solder, which separates
the metal parts from the boards. Metals are also extracted by soaking the circuit boards in
open acid bath followed by manual scrapping to extract copper and precious materials next to
open drains. In this sector, the dismantlers extract metals on their own or work with a big
trader, earning about Rs. 100/- per day. Two motherboards usually weighing one kilogram
cost Rs. 230. A profit of 10 per cent is made after selling the metals.
The circuit board recycling process involves either open burning of the circuit boards or
using acid stripping. Both processes first involve removal of the chips, condensers and
capacitors from the board. Very often child labour is employed to separate the parts from the
circuit boards, utilizing wire cutters and pliers. After some pin straightening, some of the
Integrated Circuits (IC) chips and components are sold for reuse. The items that are not
worthy of re-use go directly to the open fires to reduce them to metals. Following the chip
extraction and burning, the boards themselves are burned in an open pit to retrieve the rest of
the metal solder and copper. After burning, the ashes are floated in water to remove lighter
ash. Another process involves utilizing nitric acid on the circuit boards to remove gold and

platinum. Both methods, open burning and acid baths, are fraught with occupational health
risks as well as risks to the people living in the surrounding community.
The circuit boards are sourced from the computer monitors, CPUs, keyboards, television and
remote control sets, radios, cell phones and other electrical appliances. It is estimated that
about half the circuit boards used in the appliances in India end up in Moradabad (Uttar
Pradesh) also called Peetal Nagri or the brass city.

E-waste economy in the organized sector

In July 2009, organized recyclers formed the e-waste recyclers association but facing stiff
competition from the unorganized sectors, they have been able to capture only 10 per cent of
the total share of the e-waste market. A problem facing the organized sector is the lack of
proper collection and disposal mechanisms and appropriate technologies in the face of a large
informal sector. Due to lack of proper collection systems, households and institutions at times
end up storing obsolete products in their warehouses or storerooms. Even when these are sold
or exchanged, they are refurbished and then resold. Only a small proportion of obsolete
electronics products actually find its way into the e-waste processing stream.88 This is the
dilemma facing the 10,000 sq. ft. formal e-waste dismantling unit in Noida (Uttar Pradesh)
belonging to the TIC Group India Pvt. Ltd which can process up to 500 tonnes of e-waste
annually. But since June 2008, when it was launched, the unit has processed only 200 tonnes.
Similarly, the Attero recycling unit in Roorkee (Uttarakhand) is a 35 crore plant which can
process 36,000 tonnes of waste in a year although it is getting only 600 tonnes currently. The
formal sector also lack refineries for precious metals recovery. Therefore, according to the ewaste recyclers association formed by organized recyclers in July, 2009, the only way to
sustain formal business in the current scenario is the license to import.89 Currently, the Attero
recycling unit is the only recognized recycling facility for e-waste in India which has the
license to import e-waste from the developed countries. Applications from other formal
agencies are pending with the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India.
Opinions however differ on the issue of license to import as the only way to sustain formal
business in the current scenario. The Toxics Link holds that the aim of e-waste management
should be safeguarding environment rather than sustaining businesses. Allowing imports
would mean many non-recyclable hazardous materials dumped in our landfills, which should
not be allowed. The country generates very large quantities of waste and the critical need was
to establish a sound collection mechanism and not permit waste import to sustain capacity
utilization of plants.
Unlike the informal recyclers, the formal recyclers do not use any chemicals or incinerations
and use environmentally sound processes. Clients of the formal recyclers include
multinational companies which have to keep up with an environment friendly image and
those which do not want their products to enter the grey market and compete with their new
products. Unlike the organized sector, the informal dealers refurbish and sell a computer,

even if it can be classified as e-waste, with some parts of it in working condition. Selling any
part of a computer that is functional would fetch more money than selling it as metal parts.
About 10 per cent of the e-waste generated every year is recycled and the remaining is
refurbished.
Comparison of the e-waste economy between the informal and formal sectors in the table
given below provides a comprehensive insight into the methods, safeguards, capital
investments and earnings involved in the e-waste business:

As e-waste is a cheap source of raw materials while providing employment to many, there are
those who advocate recycling e-waste while stressing the need for safe recycling and for
setting up of more plants. Commenting on the benefit of safe recycling, the former President
of India, Dr. A.P.J. Abul Kalam also said at the inauguration of the Attero Recycling Plant in
Roorkee in Delhi in January 2010: With metal prices rising, recycling will help in sustaining
our economy as it is much cheaper than extracting metals from its ore.92 In this regard, the
UNEP report of July 2009 titled Recycling From E-waste to Resources has analysed issues
related to e-waste including market potential of recycling of e-waste and transfer of
innovative technologies for selected 11 countries, including India.

E-waste projection and recycling in four major cities

The two main hubs where e-waste is re-cycled in the country are Delhi and Mumbai. The
other two major hubs are Hyderabad and Bangaluru which have been the centres of the
electronics and information technology industry. They are among the top ten cities in India
which have been generating e-waste. Their status as primary centres of the e-waste recycling
process - whether it concerns storage, dismantling, recycling, refurbishing, and distributionhas been a predictable fall-out of the electronic industrial growth and development in these
cities.

Delhi
A report by the Toxics Link in 2004 found that 70 per cent of electronic waste collected at
recycling units in New Delhi was actually exported or dumped by the developed countries.
According to the last survey conducted in 2007 on the quantity of waste being produced in
Delhi, it was estimated that about 5,000 metric tonnes (MT) of hazardous waste was
produced annually. The amount of e-waste generated annually is about 12,000 tonnes.
Though not the leading generator, Delhi is the leading processing centre of e-waste in the
country. According to the study conducted by the GTZ in 2007, there were about 25,000
workers refurbishing 10,000-20,000 tonnes of e-waste annually. The work takes place in
small illegal units where neither regulations nor environment or health safeguards are in
place. Due to lack of any facility for proper storage and disposal of such waste, mishaps like
the ones that occurred in Mayapuri, where a worker got exposed to the radiation and in
Mundka, where a plastic fire broke out, are the kind of risks that the workers face each day.
Delhi has the tag of a wholesale scrap market where not only all kinds of waste are brought in
but also stored and pre-processed before being sent out to other parts of the country. The
Government is in the process of acquiring land in Kanjhawla for the purpose of treating and
disposing waste but till such time, waste would continue to be stored at common effluent
treatment plants and other generation points, posing a huge risk to those who come in contact
with it.
Once e-waste is imported, e-waste dealers in Delhi make bids on the sea-going containers at
the inland depot situated at Okhla. The material is taken out, sorted and distributed between
various recyclers according to the areas of specialization. Electronic waste in Delhi is mostly
processed in Shastri Nagar, Turkman Gate, Seelampur, Mauzpur and Mustafabad. Eastern
parts of Delhi like Mandwali are the epicentres of e-waste recycling. Mandawali is known for

all its metal work recovery while areas like Bawana and Narela are huge centres for all kinds
of recycling and pre- processing work. It is said that only dismantling is done in Delhi. But,
as per the reports of the Toxics Link, all the waste created from the pre-processing work gets
dumped into the river or dhalaos or drains, posing risks to health and environment. The
Governments sealing drive and crackdown by the Environment Department over the past
few years resulted in major part of the recycling work shifting out to the satellite towns like
Muzzafarnagar, Saharanpur, Meerut, etc. There are many factors that contribute to the
thriving e-waste recycling business in Delhi - its status as the capital and hence its
connectivity to all parts of the country; the many satellite towns around it where several
hundreds of small units treat waste; and availability of cheap migrant labour.95 The e- waste
hub on the north-eastern fringe of Delhi, the Seelampur market is also called the largest
electronics dismantling market in the country, where over 50 per cent of used computers end
up for sale and recycling. Seelampur gets e-waste from across northern India and even as far
as Bengaluru. The job of the dismantlers involves getting computers, breaking them into its
basic parts and selling motherboards to traders in Moradabad.
Apart from e-waste imports and supply from the neighbouring regions, another source of
domestic supply of e-waste is the kabadiwalas (waste pickers) who buy scrapped electronics
from households. Auction News, a bi- weekly journal in Delhi also publishes advertisements
on scrap that offices or the Government departments want to auction. When recyclers gather
in the offices concerned, auctions are held. In some cases, scrap is sold by inviting tenders.96
Since waste processing is illegal in Delhi, the Government does not have an exact estimate of
how much waste is produced in the city or how much is brought in for recycling. Even
though officials claim that the units have moved out of Delhi, they cannot be sure of the
numbers as the work largely takes place in the unorganized sector.

Mumbai
Since liberalization began in India, no other industry has performed so well against global
competition than the software industry. The Information Technology industry in India
originated in Mumbai. Among Indian cities, Mumbai ranks first among top ten cities
generating WEEE in India. Mumbai, the financial nerve centre of India, is also Indias largest
port city. The Mumbai-Pune industrial belt is one of the electronic items manufacturing hubs
of the country. As a result, Mumbai is not only the port of import for new and used

electronics; it is also home to a large user and manufacturer base, both generating large
volumes of e-waste.
The e-waste recycling market exists in a major way in Mumbai. The market of e-waste in
Mumbai is not concentrated in a single place, but spread over different areas, each handling a
different aspect of recycling. The city has a large network of scrap traders, with the main
centres in Kurla, Saki Naka, Kamthipura- Grant Road, Jogeshwari and Malad97. In spite of
the absence of proper technology, each component is disassembled and recycled or reused in
Mumbai. The general practices of recycling of the most complex parts of PCs, for instance,
circuit boards and PVC wires by open roasting and acid bath to recover different metals, has
not been observed in Mumbai. Most of the WEEE generated in the Pune and Pimpri
Chinchwad Region is transported to the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) for further
treatment and distribution.
The items, which require extraction through wet processes are sold to traders from Delhi.
Though it is claimed nothing is dumped in open fields, the report prepared by the IRG
Systems South Asia under the aegis of the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB)
acknowledges that the hazards involved in product recycling can cause environmental
damage.
The urgent need to have a well coordinated mechanism on the collection, treatment and
disposal of the e-waste in the MMR has been recognized. E-waste has been identified as a
priority area by the MPCB and it has initiated certain initiatives to create awareness among
various stakeholders on the e-waste. Started in 2009, the project to set up the first plant for
scientific recycling of e-waste generated in the region is expected to be operational from
2010. In the first phase of the project, the capacity of the plant would be around 7,500 tonne
per annum, which would later be increased. Once the plant is functional, the contractor would
establish e-waste collection channel in the region.
As per country level e-waste assessment study, Mumbai generates maximum wastes among
all the cities in India. Total electrical and electronic waste generation in Maharashtra is
20270.6 tonnes, out of which Navi Mumbai contributes 646.48 tonnes, Greater Mumbai
11017.06 tonnes, Pune 2584.21 tonnes and Pimpri-Chinchwad 1032.37 tonnes.

Bengaluru
In Bengaluru, the Silicon capital of India, e-waste recycling is a multi-crore market where ewaste is received in Gowripalya and Nayandahalli. The e-waste scrap dealers send the
segregated and dismantled e-waste parts to Delhi and Mumbai every alternative day. The ewaste recyclers earn around Rs. 2-3 lakhs a month from selling the dismantled e-waste to
Delhi. There are a few recycling centres in Karnataka like e- Wardd, e- Parisara, K.G.
Nandini Recyclers, Ash Recyclers, New Port Computer Services India Pvt. Ltd. Recyclers
and E-R3 Solutions Pvt. Ltd. in the formal sector. E-Parisara has been encouraged by the
Central and State Pollution Control Board which would like it replicated in all major cities in
the country. The Boards initiative attempts to carefully recycle old computers, their
components and other e-waste, generated by both IT companies and electronic manufacturers.
The centre has equipment to recycle up to three tonnes of waste a day, but is dealing with
around one tonne right now. According to the owner, many corporates such as IBM, Tate
Elxsi, ABB and Phillips are among its clients. But many major IT firms are yet to send their
e-waste or stipulate difficult conditions for not sending their e-waste.
Formal recycling is yet to take up in a big way as business is more profitable in the
unorganised sector. The unorganised sector has little incentive to convert into formal
recycling centres as both the private and the public sector prefer auctioning their e-waste to
informal dismantlers and get good price for it.
According to industry surveys, 8,000 to 10,000 tonnes of e-waste is generated each year by
IT firms and electronics manufacturers in and around Bengaluru. While the larger companies
have warehouses for storing the waste, others sell them to small-time scrap dealers. The
dealers, many concentrated around Mysore Road, often employ women and children to deal
with the scrap and remove usable metal. What cannot be used at all is thrown into fields and
channels or burned under unsafe conditions. Apart from affecting the health of the employees
of the scrap dealers, air, soil and ground water also get polluted. Annual e-waste generation in
Bengaluru from computer and printer, television and mobile phone is 6743.87 MT. In 2010,
the total e-waste projection for Bengaluru with a population of 1.71 crore was 1, 23,593 kgs.
including 92, 240 computers, 15,371 televisions and 15,982 mobile phones. In 2013, with a
projected population of 1.80 crore, the total e-waste volume is expected to reach 1,30,383
kilograms including 97,310 computers, 16,214 televisions and 16, 859 mobile phones.

Hyderabad
For sometime, Hyderabad has been known as the emerging Silicon capital of India. The
annual e-waste generation has been estimated for Hyderabad at 3,263,994 MT from
computers, printers, television and mobile phones. The break up is as follows: 3111.25 MT
from computers, 86.46 MT from printers, 61.0 MT from televisions and 5.284 MT from
mobile phones. In 2010, the total e-waste projection for Hyderabad with a population of
74.42 lakh was 98,163 kgs. including 42,869 computers, 53,581 televisions and 1,713 mobile
phones. In 2013, with a projected population of 81.8 lakh, the total e-waste volume is
expected to reach 1,07,886 kgs. including 47,117 computers, 58,890 televisions and 1,881
mobile phones.104 Most of the e-waste collectors and recyclers only do size reduction
(shredding) and segregation. Earth Sense Recycle Pvt. Ltd. and Ramky E-waste Recycling
Facility are two formal recycling units in Andhra Pradesh. In mid- 2009, an authorized
recycler Earth Sense set up recycling facility in Hyderabad in collaboration with e-Parisara of
Bengaluru. The facility does size reduction by dismantling, shredding and segregation. After
segregation, Earth Sense sends its waste to e- Parisara and in turn it gets exported to Belgium
along with its waste for precious metal recovery. Resource recovering facility is available
only in Belgium. Although the formal recyclers exist, most of the e-waste finds its way into
unauthorized recycling centers or to scrap dealers for quick money. In most of these units,
workers are mainly women and children. The report prepared by the Environment Protection
Training & Research Institute (EPTRI), Hyderabad under the aegis of the WHO, New Delhi
revealed that on an enquiry, the workers stated that there was no health problem but a study
needed to be taken up to find the actual pollution load generated and health problems among
the workers.
With the fast rate of technological changes and growing dependency on information
technology and other modern electronic household items, the quantum of e-waste is set to rise
in every electronic item. Since most of the e-waste finds its way to the unorganized sector
with profit as the prime motivating factor, e- waste recycling undeniably requires better
management and improved working environment guided by strict regulations.

Examples of e waste management by coporates

ITC IT E-Waste Policy

ITC's achievements across all three dimensions of the "Triple Bottom Line" - economic ,
social and environmental is well known and recognized globally. Being a pioneer in
environmentally sustainable operations ( e.g Carbon and Water positive , solid waste
recycling positive), we need to meet demanding standards of responsible waste management
in all aspects of our operations.

With pervasive use of electrical and electronic equipments in our daily operations, disposal of
obsolete equipments is increasingly posing a threat to our environment . There is therefore a
need to handle such disposals - referred to as E-Waste - in a responsible manner in line with
emerging global best practices and standards.
IT E-Waste is a subset of E-Waste and covers the following IT equipments
Sr.

Category

Items

No
.
1.

Computers Server / computer (CPU, Monitor, Keyboard and Mouse), Laptop,

2.

Desktop
Printer & Accessories

Notebook, Dumb terminal, etc or similar items.

Printer, Scanner, Printer Cartridge, Toner, etc or similar items

3.

Network equipments

Routers, Switches, Patch panel, Modem, Converter, VSAT

IT Accessories

equipments, etc or similar items

TV Tuner box, Floppy, CD and DVD, Pen Drive, External

4.

Hard disk, External CD / DVD writer, DAT Drive, Speaker,

Laptop Battery, Hand Held device, VC equipments, Data
Cartridge, etc or similar items
5.

Associated Electrical Power cable, Data cable, UPS, etc or similar items
items

IT E-WASTE POLICY

The lifecycle of all IT assets spanning from acquisition to disposal shall be managed in a
manner which conforms to sound environmental norms as detailed in the IT E-Waste
guidelines. This includes :
1. Preferential dealing with IT vendors having sound E-Waste management processes
2. Extending the useful life of IT assets to postpone / minimize generation of E-Waste
3. Responsible disposal processes conforming to regulatory requirements and best
practices

It E-Waste Management Guidelines

Regulatory Environment
Different government bodies have published regulatory framework for handling E-waste.
Similarly, different trade and industry bodies are also evolving the best practices to deal with
IT E-Waste. CIO Office will scan the evolving code of practice and keep updating this policy
document (supported by Corporate EHS) in line with the best practices for disposal of IT EWaste. This will be done once a year, or more frequently if deemed necessary.
The appropriate government bodies, e.g., Ministry of Environments & Forests / Central or
State pollution control boards in India, etc. have initiated the process of approving and
authorizing E-Waste Recyclers. CIO Office shall identify authorized Recyclers, publish a list
of such E-Waste Recyclers and enter into appropriate agreements covering all aspects of the
E-Waste disposal. The list of authorized Recyclers and the agreed terms and conditions will
be circulated to the DMMs.

It E-Waste Minimization Process

It shall be the endeavor of every user to maximize utilization of all IT assets to their full
productive life. Apart from internal re-use, option to extend use outside ITC through donation
to bonafide philanthropic institutions will also extend the useful life of IT assets.
Only such IT assets which are non-operational and can not be reused for any other alternate
purpose should be considered as IT E-waste for disposal. The DMM will certify this position.
COMPLIANCE REPORTING
As part of Quarterly IT Policy Compliance, the DMM shall report the Division's compliance

to E-Waste Policy to the CIO, who in turn will present Companywide consolidated status to
the Corporate IT Steering Committee.

Abbreviations
CIO

Chief Information Officer

DMM Divisional MIS Manager

CITPC Central IT Purchase Committee
ITSS IT Shared Services
CASP Corporate Accounting & System Policies

lenovo e waste management

All Lenovo products sold in India comply with RoHS requirements as per India E-waste

management and handling rules 2011.

India E-Waste management and Handling Rules, 2011, Compliance Update
Lenovo has partnered with Sims Recycling Solutions India Pvt Ltd to comply with the new
India E-Waste management and Handling Rules in providing drop-off centers and
environmentally sound management of end of life electronics. Sims India has obtained
authorizations from the appropriate governmental agency for their processing facilities.
Currently, Lenovo has audited and approved the Sims Chennai facility and processes to
Lenovos global standards and will be used to receive and recycle initial customer returned
equipment, including Lenovo smartphones, tablets, notebooks, monitors, desktops, and
related PC products and LenovoEMC and Iomega branded Network Attached Storage
Devices. Lenovo is in the process of auditing two additional Sims facilities which will be
used in the near future to provide improved logistics.
Supported Locations Sims India provides 1491 points of presense throughout India.
Customers should view the following file to identify the center closet to their location. Click
here for the locations.

Customer Access Information: To access one of the above services please use one of
the following methods:
Call the following toll free number (1-800-425-7770) from Monday to Friday between 10 am
to 5:30 PM. Send an email to india.info@simsmm.com requesting a product submission
form.

PC Recycling Service
In advance of the new E-waste regulation, Lenovo India offered a voluntary PC Recycling
Service for collecting and recycling end of life Lenovo branded products from private
households (consumers) and business customers.
During the calendar year 2011, this program collected and recycled 2.12 metric tons of
customer returned equipment. Lenovo India also recycled 143 metric tons of Lenovo owned
equipment (e.g., employee replaced equipment, channel returns) during calendar year 2010
and 30 metric tons in 2011.

Sony Electronic Waste (E-Waste) Management

Saving environment is a shared responsibility, where Sony seeks understanding and
cooperation from its consumers. Our e-waste management is an initiative towards reducing
the environmental impact of our products. Join us as we take an endeavor to save the
environment.
The Sony e-waste management reaffirms our commitment to ensure compliance of
environmental laws in India by ensuring proper management of electronic waste.
In order to promote and encourage electronic waste recycling, we would advise consumers to
deposit your electronic equipments and accessories at any of the collection centers mentioned
in a list on the website.
We look forward to your support in ensuring safe and efficient disposal of e-waste which is a
shared responsibility between you the consumer and Sony. We value your co-operation and
understanding in this regard.

CONCLUSION
E-wastean environment and public health hazard
All types of waste are not only imported but generated in India- hazardous industrial waste,
municipal solid waste and e-waste. The quantum of wastes generated over the past several
years have posed an ever increasing threat to environment and public health. Over eightyeight critically polluted industrial zones have been identified by the CPCB. Pollutants from
such zones contaminate water bodies and rivers and even pollute the ground water in many
places. Studies have also shown that crops are contaminated through industrial effluents but
the scale of such an impact has yet to be identified. As far as e-waste is concerned, it has
emerged as one of the fastest growing waste streams world wide today. The sheer amount of
electronic equipments reaching end-of-life poses a huge challenge. Computers and
electronics equipments are designed without giving sufficient attention to the aspects such as
downstream impacts, and the ease of recycling. Thus, their dismantling is also extremely
labour-intensive. As long as electronic products continue to contain an assortment of toxic
chemicals and are designed without recycling aspects, they would pose a threat to
environment and public health at their end-of-life. As electronic products are currently
constituted, e-waste recycling operations in any country will generate polluting residues and
emissions. Toxics Link has reported that India has over 1.38 million obsolete computers with
manufacturers adding

about 1,050 tonnes of electronic scrap every year. It is currently estimated that India produces
some 3.8 lakh tonnes of e-waste annually. E-waste now forms over 70 per cent of landfills.
When developing countries like India start tightening and enforcing stricter legislation on
transboundary movements of e-waste, developed countries may find it harder to avoid the
issue of recycling and disposal through export. However, in March, 2010, in the journal titled
Environmental Science and Technology, author Eric Williams, Assistant Professor in Arizona
State University, wrote, Trade bans will become increasingly irrelevant in solving the
problem (of e-waste). He argues that a complete ban on export of used and end-of-life
electronics to developing countries would fail to solve the problem because the developing
world would generate more used and end-of- life electronics than the developed countries as
early as 2017.

Additionally, by 2025, the developing world would generate twice the amount of electronic
scrap as what will come from the developed nations.182 Considering the future scenario, it is
imperative that the safe management of waste is done in an organized manner with sufficient
resources and sustainable recycling technologies on the one hand and effective legislations
and monitoring mechanisms on the other. In Delhi, in the wake of the Mayapuri radiation
leak incident, the government had issued guidelines and advisories to all heads of hospitals,
medical centres, diagnostic centres and medical labs using radioactive equipment and
consumables for their safe disposal, as per the directives of the Atomic Energy Regulatory
Board (AERB) under the Atomic Energy (Safe Disposal of Radioactive Wastes) Rules, 1987,
and the Atomic Energy (Radiation Protection) Rules, 2004. Ironically, under the AERB
directives, the rules prescribing detailed guidelines regarding medical exposure, potential
exposure, personal

monitoring, quality control and even appointing radiation workers and radiological safety
officers already exist. The incident highlights the need to have a clear cut disaster protocol
and to implement effective regulation and monitoring mechanism to ensure that the rules are
adhered to. It also calls for the regulatory infrastructure to allow for the protection of workers
and community rights. There has to be sufficient rights for citizens to take legal recourse for
damages caused to their health, environment and property.

Need for stringent health safeguards and environmental protection laws in

India
Environmental activists opine that environment protection laws in India are not stringent
enough to address the issues relating to either domestic waste or imports of hazardous waste
including e-waste. We do not have appropriate technology to ascertain the quantum and
quality of wastes in the imported items. For instance, it has been reported that the problem of
toxic waste imports cannot be addressed properly as none of the Indian ports (except the
Jawaharlal Nehru Port at Nhava Sheva) has scanners to detect the actual contents of the
consignments.184 There are expectations that the proposed E-waste (Management and
Handling) Rules, 2010 will lay down explicit laws concerning e-waste and systematize
various aspects of the e-waste recycling sector.

The Government has consulted various non- governmental organizations (NGOs) in the
process of developing a dedicated set of rules, which would govern the management and
handling of electronic and electrical waste. Draft rules on e-waste management were jointly
proposed and submitted to the Government by the Manufacturers Association for
Information Technology (MAIT), Deutesche Gesellschaft

Fuer Technische Zusammenanfeit (GTZ), Greenpeace and Toxics Link in September, 2009. It
is necessary that the legislation is clear in laying down the responsibility of every shareholder
in the management of wastefrom the producer to the consumer and the recycler. Besides,
any legislation to be effective requires clear specification of the mechanisms to carry out each
function. Strategies have been proposed for the effective management and handling of ewaste in the country, many of which are already in force or in consideration in the EU
countries and other developed countries like the U.S. and Japan. Considering the rapid
growth of generation of e-waste, the MoEF has proposed to notify separate Rules on e-waste
under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. The salient features of the proposed Rules in
brief, provided by the MoEF, are as given below:

(i) The concept of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) has been enshrined in the
proposed Rules.

(ii) The rules propose to extend producers responsibility to the post-consumer stage of the
product life cycle and fix their responsibility for collection of end of life products and to
ensure that such wastes are channelized for safe handling. In addition, Producers are required
to finance, and organize a system to meet the costs involved in the environmentally sound
management of e-waste generated from the end of life of their own products and the
historical waste available on the date from which these rules come into force.

(iii) Producers, as necessary, can designate agencies to set up an effective take back system
for all electrical and electronic equipment at the end of their life.

(iv) The threshold limits prescribed in EU RoHS Directive, which is globally accepted
standard for the hazardous substance used in manufacture of electrical and electronics
components have been adopted.

(v) Rules also provide for granting authorization and registration by the State Pollution
Control Board or the Pollution Control Committee concerned, to a persons/agency engaged in
collection or dismantling or recycling of e-waste; provided that the applicant possesses
appropriate facilities to handle e-waste safely. This is to ensure management of e-waste in an
environmentally sound manner.

(vi) Collection Centres, which are being run by individuals/ jointly or by agencies will be
required to take authorization from respective State Pollution Control Boards/Committees
and file annual return thereafter providing details of e-waste collected. Dismantlers and
recyclers will have to obtain authorization and registration from the concerned State Pollution
Control Board and file annual return regarding e-waste handled by them