Management of E-Waste- Black to Green
Journal Title: International Journal of Marketing and Technology - Year 2011, Vol 1, Issue 7
Abstract
Environment today is losing its natural essence and sustainability due to various environmental issues. With more developments and dynamic innovations, environment is being depleted with natural resources leading to various problems of diversified nature. These problems are so diversified that it will affect the entire human community along with the other living species. Developed and developing nations alike are becoming increasingly aware of the staggering amount of obsolete electronics, or e-waste, being generated by both consumers and organizations. India is already a huge producer of Waste Electronic and Electrical Equipment (WEEE) as it has one of the fastest growing markets for Electronic and Electrical Equipment (EEE), one that is far from saturation. The consumer electronic market in India is estimated at 13.5 million units and valued at Rs. 129 billion in 2003. This represents 21% volume growth over 1998, and 41% current value growth over 1998 (Euro monitor International, 2004). From 1993 to 2000, the number of PC users in India increased 604% whilst the average growth throughout the world was much lower at 181 % Least Developed Region (LDR), 2005. This year alone, it is estimated that 450 million units of discarded electronics will enter the waste stream across America. By 2010, this figure will rise to three billion units per year. Without proper recycling, this will result in the ejection of shocking levels of toxins into our environment; over 550 million kilos of lead, 900,000 kilos of cadmium and 180,000 kilos of mercury. India is now confronted with the huge problem of e-waste - both locally generated and internationally imported - and also both a lucrative industry and yet also a serious threat to human health and the environment. Large e-waste centers exist in Delhi, Meerut, Firozabad, Chennai, Bangalore and Mumbai, with 25,000 recyclers working in Delhi alone. Workers are poorly-protected in an environment where e-waste from PC monitors, PCBs, CDs, motherboards, cables, toner cartridges, light bulbs and tube-lights are burned in the open, releasing lead, mercury toxins into the air. Metals and non-degradable materials such as gold and platinum, aluminum, cadmium, mercury, lead and brominates flame-retardants are retrieved. These substances are associated with a range of adverse human health conditions, including effects on the nervous system, reproductive and child developmental problems, cancer, and genetic impacts. Generally the most valuable parts, such as microchips and hard disks, are removed in the first process, and then remnants may pass through multiple ―strippers‖ or lower-tier scavengers who salvage the next valuable parts. At the end of the chain, the leftovers, highly toxic components, are ending up in our landfills or are exported to developing nations. As much as 50 to 80 percent of US electronic waste collected for recycling is sent to Asia, the Basel Action Network reports. Mumbai alone throws away 19,000 tone of electronic waste a year, excluding the large e-waste imports from developed nations through its port. The trend is likely to increase manifold in proportion to the growth in the electronics industry and the life-span of electronics go down. The projected growth for the e-waste generation for India is about 34% year. This is also giving a new business to domestic as well as multinational industries worldwide, with a good profit base. Environmentally sound management‖ (ESM), the aim of which is to protect human health and the environment by minimizing hazardous waste production whenever possible. ESM means addressing the issue through an ―integrated life-cycle approach‖, which involves strong controls from the generation of a hazardous waste to its storage, transport, treatment, reuse, recycling, recovery and final disposal. The growing quantity of e-Waste necessitates the development of systems which can handle the waste in such a way that minimizes negative social and environmental impacts while maximizing the positive impacts. The study focuses and put efforts to find solutions that can improve the situation with regard to environmental impacts, occupational hazards and economic revenue.
Authors and Affiliations
Dr. D. Sudharani Ravindran, Hari Sundar. G. Ram and M. Sathish
Keywords
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