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

It is a point of concern considering that many components of such equipment are considered toxic and are not biodegradable.

India generates close to

500,000 tons e-waste p.a.Expected to touch a million ton by 2011

Broad break up appears as under:

Mumbai : 50,000 tons

Delhi : 35,000

Bangalore : 30,000

Chennai : 25,000

Kolkata : 19,000

Ahmedabad : 14,000

Hyderabad : 13,000

Pune : 10,000

Indore : 8,000

WASTE PILING UP

• IT & Telecom Equipments

• Large Household Appliances

• Small Household Appliances

• Consumer & Lighting Equipments

• Electrical & Electronic Tools

• Toys, Leisure & Sports Equipment

• Medical Devices

• Monitoring & Control Instruments

SOURCES OF WEEE

Over 400 million current mobile users

expected to increase to

500 million by 2010 end

At present, India has about

40 million computerswhich are expected to grow

to 80 million computersby end 2010

Over 14 million old PCs

ready for disposal in India

What contributes to e-waste?

• A relatively new category of waste brought along with the high-tech boom

• E-waste includes all types of electronic equipments/ products which have become obsolete or have been discarded due to: Advancement in technology Changes in fashion, style, status or perception Nearing the end of their useful life

• Generally understood to refer to any old, obsolete, end-of-life appliances using electricity which have been disposed off by their owners

How informal sector deals with?

• A relatively new industry in India, traditionally dominated by the unorganized segment

• Scrap dealers and rag-pickers gather e-waste from households in their area of operation and employ crude and highly unsafe processes for recycling the same, causing significant environmental damage– open burning of wires to extract resalable copper, soaking of circuit boards in acid

baths to extract precious metal, disposing the residue into open drains or land, etc.

• The formal e-waste recycling segment consists of a few large players which have the proper infrastructure to handle WEEE equipment

Unsafe methods for e-waste recycling

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

Magnitude of e-waste in India

• As per a study released by MAIT, India generated 330,000 MT of electronic waste in 2007, while an additional 50,000 MT was illegally imported

• MAIT estimates that by 2011, e-waste in India would touch 470,000 MT• The Western region contributes maximum to e-waste generation – up to

35%• Sixty five cities in India generate up to 60% of total e-waste• Ten states alone generate more than 70% of total e-waste• MAIT estimates that only 19,000 tonnes of the total e-waste generated gets

ultimately processed by the formal recycling sector• As per the study, around 94% of corporates in India do not have a policy on

disposal of obsolete IT products/ e-waste

Ferrous Metal, 32%

Plastic, 23%

Non-ferrous Metal, 18%

Glass, 15%Electronic

Boards, 12%

Contents of a Computer

0%5%

10%15%20%25%30%35%40%

North East West South

E-Waste Generation in IndiaAnnual E-Waste Generated3,32,979 MT

Available for Recycling1,44,443 MT

E-Waste Processed19,000 MT

Major toxic elements in e-waste

• Due to the pervading reach of information technology in trade and commerce, computer waste is the most significant of all e-waste, along with televisions and cellular phones

• E-waste contains both valuable as well as harmful components– Valuable components include precious metals such as gold, silver, copper,

palladium, etc.– Harmful substances include lead, mercury, cadmium, etc.

• Some of the key toxic elements contained within components of a computer include:

Components of a computer Key Toxic Constituents

Printed Circuit Boards Lead and cadmiumCathode ray Tubes(CRTs) Lead oxide and cadmiumSwitches and Flat-screen Monitors MercuryComputer Batteries CadmiumCapacitors and Transformers Poly Chlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs)Printed Circuit Boards, Plastic Casing Cable Brominated Flame Retardants (BFRs)Computer Batteries Poly Vinyl Chloride (PVC)

Toxic Elements Inside a Computer