E-Waste management

Piyush,
Parth Bansal,
Pawan Patidar,
Hardik Sharma

Abstract— The development of the information and com- may contain mercury. Mercury is also found in CFLs, relays,
munication technology industry has accelerated the use of and some other products. In addition to cadmium in computer
electronic devices. Rapid obsolescence and the subsequent batteries, cadmium is also used for coatings of metal fasten-
speed of electronic products force consumers to throw away
old products, which in turn creates a large collection of e- ers / metal parts in subassemblies. Polychlorinated biphenyls
waste in solid waste. E-waste is growing at 10is done in the are found in capacitors and transformers and plastic coatings
informal sector using primitive and risky methods. Adequate for insulation in electronic plastic parts, cables and polyvinyl
legislative measures and cost-effective, environmentally friendly, chloride (PVC) cable coatings in capacitors and transformers.
technological solutions are needed to address this problem. This To date, no specific research has been conducted to determine
article provides basic information about e-waste management
in India. the impact of e-waste on the environment. However, many
Keywords: India,Electronic devices,solid waste, rapid NGOs have found that recycling e-waste in the informal
obsolescence,e-waste,technology. sector is dangerous. These units use primitive, unscientific
and environmentally harmful methods. Since these units
I. INTRODUCTION operate in the unorganized sector, there is no information
The final electronic products removed from computers, In- to prove that they are violating existing laws for labor,
formation and Communication Technology (ICT) equipment, environmental protection and industry.
household appliances, audio and video products and their Greenpeace conducted a study on environmental pollution
surroundings are known as electronic waste (E-waste). from electronics manufacturing in China, Thailand, the
However, there is no standard or universally accepted defini- Philippines, and Mexico (source: www.greenpeace.org). This
tion of e-waste worldwide. Electronic waste usually consists study evaluates the pollution caused by the use of cer-
of more expensive and mainly durable products used in tain hazardous chemicals in the manufacture of electronic
private homes and businesses for data processing, telecom- products in these countries. This industry includes printed
munications or entertainment. circuit board and semiconductor chip manufacturing units,
E-waste is not hazardous if it is stored in safe storage and manufacturing of televisions, computers, monitors, etc.
or scientifically processed, or if it is sent from one place there are different assembly units, no such study has been
to another for scrap metal or to the official sector. E- done in India.
waste can be considered hazardous if it is recycled in a
primitive way. Electronic waste, heavy metal, plastic, glass, II. C ATALOUGE O F E LECTRONIC J UNK
etc. contains a number of substances, such as, which can be Actual data on production or import of e-waste is currently
harmful to the environment and human health if not used in not available in India. Several studies have been conducted
an environmentally friendly way. Recycling e-waste in the by various institutions to determine the inventory of e-waste.
informal sector can harm the environment. Most of these studies are based on obsolete models of
The ill effects of e-waste could be on soil through leaching electronic products that need to be validated by field data.
of hazardous contents from landfills; in water due to contam- The survey was conducted by the Central Pollution Control
ination of rivers, wells and other water sources; in air due Board (CPCB) during 2005. In 2005, the country generated
to emission of gases and burning of e-waste. The processing 1.347 million tons of electronic waste, which is expected to
process, if not carried out correctly, can cause human injury increase to about 8.0 million tons in 2012.[1]
through gas inhalation during processing, exposure of work- In 2007, India and GTZ, the India and Technology Manu-
ers to hazardous substances on their skin, and contact during facturers Association, recorded electronic waste from three
acid treatment used in the recovery process. products: computers, mobile phones and televisions. Total
Hazardous and toxic substances found in electronic waste e-waste generated in India in 2007 was 3,32,979 metric
include lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd) in printed circuit boards Tons (MT) (Computers: 56324MT, Mobile Phones: 1655MT
(PCBs). Tin is mainly used in all electronic products / and TV: 275000MT) (Source: E-Waste Invention Report in
assembly, cathode ray tube (CRT) etc. found. Cadmium India), MAIT-GTZ study, 2007 ). The research results are
found in monitors / CRT, switches and flat screen monitors given as follows:
 III. L EGISLATIVE M EASURE
Sr. N0. Item Weight
(MT) The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MOEF), Gov-
1 Domestic Generation 332979 ernment of India is the nodal agency for planning, promoting
2 Imports 50000 and coordinating environmental programmes, including e-
3 Total 382979 waste. E-waste management Hazardous Waste for Environ-
4 WEEE available for recycling 144143 ment and Forests (Management and Handling) Rules, 2008
5 WEEE actual recycled 19000 were introduced. The E-waste (Management and Handling)
6 Projected quantity of WEEE by Regulations, 2010 under the Environment (Protection) Act,
2011 (without including the imports) 467098 1986 have been notified. (S.O. 1035) May 12, 2011 An-
swer Safe and Reduce the use of hazardous substances in
Considering the growth rate, the volume of e-waste will transport, storage, recycling and manufacture of electrical
reach nearly 0.7 million MT by 2015 and 2 million MT by and electronic equipment. This rule will be effective from
2025 (Fig.1). May 1, 2012. India’s Central Pollution Control Board[2]
(CPCB) issued guidelines for environmentally friendly e-
waste management in 2008, which are applicable to all e-
waste handlers..

A. Global Scenario
EU legislation limiting the use of hazardous substances in
electrical and electronic equipment (Directive 2002/95/EC)
and legislation promoting the collection and recycling of
such equipment (Directive 2002/96/EC) came into force
in February 2003. established a collection scheme where
customers return their used electronic waste free of charge.
The aim of this scheme is to promote the reuse and/or
recycling of such products. It also calls for the replacement
of heavy metals such as lead, mercury, cadmium and hexava-
Fig. 1. Growth of Ewaste in India
lent chromium and flame retardants such as polybrominated
biphenyl (PBB) or polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE)
A. State and City wise Electronics Waste generation in with safer alternatives. The European Commission proposed
India a revision of the Electrical and Electronic Equipment Di-
rective in December 2008 to combat the growing flow of
In India, among the top ten cities, Mumbai ranks first in waste, as poorly treated electronic waste poses a threat to
e-waste generation, followed by Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, the environment and health B has[3] created several similar
Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Pune, Surat and Nagpur. initiatives around the world. Major RoHS initiatives have
65 cities produce more than 60% of e-waste generated, and been adopted in California, Norway, China, South Korea
10 states produce 70% of e-waste. The pie chart in Figure 2 and Japan. Many countries like Australia, New Zealand,
indicates the state wise generation of ewaste whereas Fig. 3 Thailand, Malaysia, Taiwan, Canada and Brazil take this
shows the city wise generation of e-waste. seriously.
1) Data Collection: The European Union (EU) is one
of the largest producers of electronic waste (e-waste) in
the world, and as such, e-waste management has become
an important issue for the region. A dataset that covers
e-waste management in the EU for two years, 2010 and
2020, would provide valuable insights into the trends and
changes in e-waste management practices over the decade.
The dataset could include information on the total amount
of e-waste generated in the EU, broken down by member
state, as well as the amount of e-waste that was collected
and properly disposed of or recycled. It could also include
data on the types of electronic devices that were disposed of,
such as televisions, computers, and mobile phones. Overall,
a comprehensive dataset on e-waste management in the EU
for the years 2010 and 2020 would be a valuable resource
Fig. 2. State w ise E-waste Generation in India (Tonnes/year) for understanding the challenges and opportunities associated
with managing this growing environmental issue[4]
 by importers. Review of issues related to landfill
identification and reporting.

iv. Directorate General of Foreign Trade constituted under

the Foreign Trade (Development regulation) Act 1992 to
grant/ refuse licence for hazardous wastes prohibited for
imports under the Environment (protection) Act, 1986.
v. Port Authorities and Customs Authorities under the cus-
toms Act, 1962[5] verify the documents and inform the
Ministry of Environment and Forests of any illegal traffic
and analyze wastes permitted for imports and exports and
also train officials on the provisions of the Hazardous Wastes
Rules and in analysis of hazardous wastes.
vi. The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) is the
certifying authority for permitting imports of second-hand
goods.[6]
B. Enforcement Agencies in India
IV. . E- WASTE R ECYCLING P RACTICES IN I NDIA
Indian Enforcement Agencies involved in E-waste i. The
Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India A. Non-formal Sector
is responsible for identifying hazardous waste and permitting Ninety-five percentage of the ewaste in India is being
exporters and importers under the Environment (Protection) recycled in nonformal sector and five percentage of the
Act, 1986. ewaste volume are handled in formal unit. In and around
ii. Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) was constituted of metropolitan cities in India, there are over 3000 units
under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, engaged in non-formal sector for e-waste recycling. Non-
1974. CPCB coordinates activities with the State Pollution formal units of e-waste recyclers are distributed all over
Control Boards and ensures implementations of the condi- India. A large cluster of industries are in Delhi, Tamil
tions of imports. It also monitors the compliance of the[1] Nadu, U.P., Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat,Kerala, Andhra
conditions of authorization, import and export and conduct Pradesh, West Bengal, Rajasthan etc. Informal units usually
training courses for authorities dealing with management of carry out steps like collecting e-waste from scrap collectors,
hazardous wastes and to recommend standards for treatment, dismantling products for spare parts, components, modules
disposal of waste, leachate and specifications of materials that have resale value. The remaining materials are chem-
and recommend procedures for characterization of hazardous ically processed to recover precious metals. Insufficient re-
wastes. sources can lead to the release of harmful substances into the
iii. State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs) were established air, soil and water. This processing method has low efficiency
under the (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 to and limited recovery for gold, silver, aluminum, copper, etc.
issue and renew licences, monitor compliance with various This is done for precious metals like tantalum, cadmium,
license terms and conditions, submit applications for import zinc, palladium, etc. Other materials like this cannot be
recovered..[7]
B. Formal Sector
There are several formal processors in India. The process
in the formal sector is mainly limited to separating and
dismantling electronic waste up to the downsizing stage of
printed circuit boards (PCBs). One part is used to reduce the
size of PCBs. Pre-designed PCBs are available in copper,
Fig. 3. e-waste collected in 2010 silver, gold, aluminum, palladium, tantalum, ruthenium, plat-
inum, etc. It is exported to refineries in developed countries
for further recovery of precious metals, and the slag product
cleans the environment. schedule End-to-end solutions for e-
waste recycling are still lacking in India Recycling/recovery
of valuable materials by public sector units is done in a
protected environment and with care to minimize harm to
the environment or society. The use of advanced processes
and technology results in efficient metal recovery. Recovery
technology by units in the formal sector will be economically
viable, as the capital equipment and machinery required can
Fig. 4. e-waste collected in 2020 be shared with the product volume. The recovery efficiency
of formal processing is high and even trace metals can be their products to the European Union.
recovered. Some technologies[2] work with the zero polygon c. Another project, ”Environmentally Friendly Methods for
approach. Most of the e-waste in India is diverted to the Metal Recovery from PCBs”, was implemented at the Mate-
informal sector, while the formal sector faces the problem rials Center for Electronic Technology (C-MET), Hyderabad,
of insufficient input materials. To overcome this problem, with the active involvement of licensed recyclers. E-parisara
the Union introduced adequate provisions in the Hazardous Pvt. Ltd., Bangalore. The purpose of the project is to de-
Waste (Management, Handling and Limitation) Regulations, velop an environmentally friendly method for depopulation,
2008. The Association has advised various government agen- separation and treatment of components, and a method to
cies/departments that electronic waste generated in various recover metals from depopulated PCBs.
institutions should be disposed of primarily. environmentally d. Another project titled “Upgrading novel and converting
friendlymanner in accordance with these Rules. The occupier plastics from WEEE to by-products” was carried out at
has now responsible for safe and environmentally sound han- the Central Institute of Plastics Engineering and Technology
dling of such wastes generated in their establishments. It was (CIPET), Bhubaneswar. E-waste consists of seven categories
further advised that the units handling and engaged in activity including ABS, HIPS, PC, PP, PVC, Nylons, Epoxy, Pheno-
like collection, segregation, dismantling and recycling of e- lic. Polyester etc. This project aims to develop value-added
wastes are required to register with Central Pollution Control products from this waste plastic to reduce the accumulation
Board (CPCB). of plastic waste in the community. The end user M/s Hairta
NTI Purwakarta is actively involved in the project.
V. . I NITIATIVES OF D EPARTMENT OF I NFORMATION e. DIT previously implemented an environmental manage-
T ECHNOLOGY ment system program for the Information Technology sector
The Department of Information Technology, Ministry of (January-March 1999) with financial support from UNDP
Communications and Information Technology, Government and the Ministry of Communications and Informatics. Under
of India, is the nodal ministry for the electronics industry. this programme, a comprehensive document titled ’Envi-
To address the urgent need for cost-effective eco-friendly ronmental Management System for Information Technology
technology, DIT supports research efforts to develop eco- Industry in India’ was prepared and widely distributed among
friendly technological solutions for e-waste management. industries in India. It details various technologies to be used
The focus is on developing recycling technologies for all to improve hazardous waste management and reduce the use
types of electronic waste that result in minimal landfill and of hazardous substances in electronics manufacturing[10].
air, land and water emissions. The recovery of valuable DIT has taken these steps to control pollution in electronics
materials and the recycling of plastics are aimed at becoming industry. Accordingly, several initiatives have been taken to
an economical business. A[8] number of research and devel- create awareness: Electronics 1st Electronics Environmental
opment projects have been initiated at national institutes in Awareness Workshop on Environmental Management
India. Some of these projects are:
a. The project titled ”Development of Recycling Technol- VI. .C ONCLUSION
ogy for Recycling and Recycling of Electronic Waste” was Most e-waste is processed in India in regulated units
successfully implemented at the National Metallurgical Lab- that employ significant labor. The recovery of metals from
oratory. Jamshedpur, India - Council of Science and Industry PCBs by primitive methods is the most dangerous activity.
Research and Development Laboratory (CSIR) March 2011. Proper education, awareness and most importantly alternative
In this project, an indigenous technology was developed to cost effective technologies should be provided so that better
recover metal content from electronic waste with a recovery resources can be provided to the profiteers[11]. A holistic
rate of 90toxic gases and harmful emissions. Thus, it will approach is required to address the challenges India faces
reduce environmental hazards associated with e-waste pro- in e-waste management. Appropriate mechanisms should be
cessing units in the unorganized sector[9]. The developed developed to include sub-sectors and large sectors in the
process results in processing waste up to a pilot scale of unorganized sector organizations have changed the sector
approximately 1 metric ton. It is intended to be used for to a single value chain. One approach could be for units
possible commercial purposes. in the regulated sector to focus on collecting, dismantling,
b. The European Commission has restricted the import and separation, while metal extraction, processing, and[12]
of electronic goods manufactured using hazardous mate- disposal can be regulated by the regulated sector.
rials (RoHS) such as lead, cadmium, mercury, hexava-
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