India – An e-waste ground!

A recent study disclosed that developing countries like India and China are creating a novel but dangerous waste. The e-waste is giving a serious emerging threat to environment. The reports brought out by a leading environment group, Greenpeace India, says that these booming economies are more and more dependent on electronic and electrical equipments which is giving rise to electronic waste.

“Primitive recycling or disposal of e-waste to landfills and incinerators causes’ irreversible environmental damage by polluting water and soil and contaminating air,” states the report titled as “Take Back Blues – An assessment of e-waste take-back in India”.

It is poisoning our soil and water, causing serious health problems. The report showed that in 2007 India generated 380,000 tonnes of e-waste from discarded computers, televisions and mobile phones. This, the report said, was projected to more than double by 2012, to 800,000 per annum with a growth rate of 15 per cent.

Shocked by the findings, Abhishek Pratap, Greenpeace Toxics campaigner and the principal investigator for the study questioned, “It seems like e-waste take-back in India is in no way a priority for global brands. Otherwise, how else can one explain the irresponsible conduct of brands like Sony, Sony Ericsson, Toshiba, Samsung and Philips, which have no take-back service in India whatsoever?”

“Long-term exposure to deadly component chemicals and metals like lead, cadmium, chromium, mercury and polyvinyl chlorides (PVC) can severely damage the nervous systems, kidney and bones, and the reproductive and endocrine systems, and some of them are carcinogenic and neurotoxic,” the report mentions.

Now the question is how to tackle the problem before it becomes seriously out of control. Greenpeace Toxics campaigner Rampati Kumar said that the only way to tackle this novel threat is eco-friendly equipment. He believes that global and domestic brands manufacture should ensure eco-friendly equipment to control the threat.

“The solution lies with the brand owners or manufacturers of electronic products, which need to bear responsibility for financing the treatment of the own-branded e-waste discarded by their customers. If brands follow the ‘cradle to grave’ approach by ensuring take-back and bring back responsibility, it might work,” he says. ”

It was found in the study that half of the global brands have no take-back service in India. Nine out of 20 brands surveyed have no take-back service. The nine brands include Apple, Microsoft, Panasonic, PCS, Philips, Sharp, Sony, Sony Ericsson and Toshiba. Only two brands, HCL and WIPRO, stand out as having the best take-back practice in India and have come out publicly in support of e-waste legislation in India.

“As part of HCL’s eco safe programme, we give booklets along with our products that address waste disposal and inform customers of take back policies, we also host customer seminars telling them about the importance of electronic waste disposal,” George Paul, executive vice-president marketing, HCL Info Systems, said.

“Customers have to incur the cost of giving back the equipment; thus they prefer to sell it to local scrap dealers for a nominal price. Unlike in Europe where once a week the local municipality picks up the electronic waste for a charge levied at the time of purchase of goods, in India the consumer is still at a fairly nascent stage of understanding waste disposal.” He added.

Even as India heads for an e-waste crisis, most of the global electronic brands have no functioning e-waste take-back services in India.

The findings have sounded an alarm of emerging e-waste crisis and if not dealt properly at time, this e-waste will be proved harmful to the economy as well as to the global environment.