In today’s day and age, one will hardly be able to find a person without a smartphone or a laptop! What is interesting is that in a regular household with say four people would mean four different smartphones, one or maybe two laptops. But what happens when these smartphones and laptops are replaced with a new ones? In the case of smartphones, it has been observed that on average, most people replace their smartphones every two years. So, what happens to old ones? What happens to their chargers and other electronics which came with them? This was only about a single household, now imagine several households and many industries which operate solely on electronics. Where all this waste goes? How are these disposed of?
The growth of IT and communication sectors and the global market of electronics and electrical equipment go hand in hand. Over the recent past, the IT and communication sector has increased the usage of electronics exponentially. We see new electronic products being launched daily. This fast up-gradation of electronic products forces consumers to discard the old electronics rapidly which in turn, adds to more and more e-waste. This growing problem of rapid generation of e-waste is a serious concern and a threat to our environment which needs proper management and disposal strategies.
What is e-waste exactly?
e-waste can be defined as any electronic appliance such as a refrigerator, computer, mobile phone, laptop, television, camera, etc., or even parts of such appliances like cables, wires, batteries, electronic chips, drives, etc which are not in use anymore.
This can be divided into three main categories which are:
(i) Large household appliances
Refrigerators, washing machines, etc.
(ii) IT and Telecommunications
Personal computers, laptops, etc.
(iii) Consumer equipment
TVs, mobile phones, mp3 players, etc.
e-waste challenges in India
This increase in the volume of e-waste is problematic. India ranks 177 amongst the bottom five countries on the Environmental Performance Index 2018, as per a report released at World Economic Forum 2018.
Studies show that India generates more than two million tonnes of e-waste annually. One of the reasons for this huge number is the lack of proper e-waste management and disposal system. Because of the dumping that takes place in open dumping sites the groundwater is contaminated which leads to health issues as the toxic contaminants reach the human body and animals through the contaminated groundwater. The health hazards ranging from liver and kidney damage to various types of neurological disorders. The waste disposed of in landfills reaches agricultural fields which in turn affects humans and animals.
The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) and KPMG study, Electronic Waste Management in India identified that computer equipment accounts for almost 70 percent of e-waste followed by telecommunication equipment phones (12 percent), electrical equipment (8 percent), and medical equipment (7 percent) with remaining from household e-waste.
What can be done?
It has been observed that almost all e-waste consists of some recyclable material which includes plastic, glass, and metals. Recycling helps in the recovery of certain valuable metals and other materials from electronics which promotes the reduction the pollution, conserving landfill spaces, and creating employment.
According to EPA, recycling one million cell phones can recover 75 pounds of gold, 772 pounds of silver, 35,000 pounds of copper, and 33 pounds of palladium.
Recycling can be very beneficial to the environment. By utilizing used and unwanted materials as industrial feedstock can help recycling work.
Educating people about how to reduce, reuse and recycle unwanted electronics at all levels can be advantageous for the environment. Campaigns should be organized for spreading awareness about environment-friendly e-waste management programs.
Conclusion
e–waste management and disposal can be a challenging process but to keep the groundwater pollution-free and environment clean and reduce the number of diseases caused due to poor e-waste disposal, we need to come with better plans and strategies for the management and disposal of e-waste.
References
https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecri/2011/474230/
https://www.teriin.org/article/e-waste-management-india-challenges-and-opportunities
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