E-wastage

(Penalty for imbalance development)

Shrish kumar Tiwari

Dr. Ram Krishna upadhyay

Present era is an example of advance technological development in almost all sectors of economy. These technological up gradation have impacted us positively. It’s a

well prove fact that India is one of major country where technology has overshadows the working environment with mindset of people. Internet, computerization,

digitalization increasing use of mobile communication are setting a platform from where Indian economy is booming day-in and day-out. But as we know “NO GAIN

WITHOUT PAIN” and unfortunately technological growth of country is not an exception of this rule and Very same as coin this development has two face, good and

bad, and off course e-wastage is one face which is not good anymore . Electronic waste, "e-waste" or "Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment" ("WEEE") is a

waste type consisting of any broken or unwanted electrical or electronic device. Recyclable electronic waste is sometimes further categorized as a "commodity" while

e-waste which cannot be reused is distinguished as "waste". Electronic waste is of concern largely due to the toxicity and carcinogenicity of some of the substances if

processed improperly. Devices and gadgets used for communication, entertainment and data processing commonly fall under the category of products that give rise to

e-waste.

Although e-wastage problem is in its nascent age but improper treatment un awareness regarding this can make this problem much severe and widespread. This paper

is an effort to analyze the cause and seriousness of e-wastage in India. This paper also attempts to create awareness regarding e-wastage by providing some suggestions.

Mr. Shrish Kumar Tiwari, Research-scholar in Department of Commerce and Business Administration, University of Allahabad, Allahabad.

Dr. Ram Krishna Upadhyay is the principal in Mathura degree College rasda, Ballia.

Introduction

Technological development of any country is the

Electronic Waste or e-waste refers to old electronic items which are no more of relevant use. These electronic appliances are; personal computers, mobile phones, DVD

players, laptops, TVs, mp3 players etc. Most of the people perceive e-waste in terms of only IT products but in reality all the electronic products which have completed

their life cycle, are considered as e-waste. In fact, e-waste covers a lot of electronic equipments including household appliances like, washing machines, vacuum

cleaners, toasters, dryers, Refrigerators, irons, air-conditioners, coffee machines, information technology items like, fax machines, printers, telephones, PCs etc. Other

major sources of e-waste are; equipments like sodium lamps, fluorescent tubes, VCR/DVD/CD players, radios, drills, lawn mowers, electric saws, sewing machines,

coin slot machines, surveillance equipments, electric train sets etc. In broader sense, these waste products are called WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic

Equipment). These electronic equipments are manufactured using numerous toxic contents and harmful components. These substances severely affect humans and

environment in general. Awareness of these harmful substances is still low among general public. It would come as surprise to many people knowing that, Cathode Ray

Tubes (CRTs) which are an essential element of few electronic items, contain carcinogens such as phosphor, lead, barium, and other heavy metals. If not disposed

properly, these materials are extremely harmful for humans and also for environment.

E-waste related laws of India

Hazardous Waste (Management andHandling) Amended Rules, 2003:

These define hazardous waste as “any waste which by reason of any of its physical,chemical, reactive, toxic, flammable,explosive or corrosive characteristics causes

danger or is likely to cause danger to health or environment, whether alone or when on contact with other wastes or substances.” In Schedule 1, waste generated from

the electronic industry is considered as hazardous waste. Schedule 3 lists waste of various kinds including electrical and electronic assemblies or scrap containing

compounds such as accumulators and other batteries, mercury switches, glass from cathode ray tubes and other activated glass and PCB capacitors, or contaminated

with constituents such as cadmium, mercury, lead, polychlorinated, biphenyl or from which these have been removed, to an extent that they do not possess any of the

constituents mentioned in schedule 2.

DGFT (Exim policy 2002-07):

Secondhand personal computers (PCs)/laptops are not permitted for import under EPCG scheme under the provisions of para 5.1of the Exim Policy, even for service

providers. Second-hand photocopier machines, air conditioners, diesel generating sets, etc, can also not be imported under EPCG Scheme under the provisions of Para

5.1 of EXIM Policy even if these are less than ten years old. The Basel Convention defines waste by its disposal destination or recovery processes. These various

processes are listed in Annexure IV of the convention. For example, virtually any material that will be recycled or processed in order to reclaim a metal, or to reclaim

an organic or inorganic substance for further use, is deemed a waste. Electronic components that are used without further processing are not likely to be defined as a

waste. The Convention has provided for two lists. List A, is presumed to be hazardous and thus covered by the Basel Convention and List B, is presumed to be non-

hazardous and thus not subject to the Basel Convention. The waste listed in List A is waste that poses serious threats to environment and human health. As a result of

their adverse effects these substances require special handling and disposal processes.

Sources of e-waste

The main generators of electrical and electronic waste in India are government institutions and the public and private sector, accounting for almost 70 per cent of the

total waste. The contribution from individual households, currently relatively small, is also likely to grow appreciably in future. Manufacturers of components and

assemblers are another important source of e-waste generation in the country. However, it is extremely difficult to capture the exact quantity of waste generation by this

group. The import of e-waste, which is illegal, is another major source and preliminary estimates do point that the quantity being brought in is very significant. This

takes place both in a legal as well as quasi-legal way, since e-waste is either misclassified as ‘metal scrap’ or imported as second hand or ‘end-of-life’ goods, which
soon become waste. 1) The rapid growth of technology devices. It is estimated that there are over a billion personal computers in the world at present. In developed

countries these have an average life span of only 2 years. In the United States alone there are over 300 million obsolete computers. As we know thatr India is one

among leading computer user country of the world. Increasing use of computer, computer pheripheliels , devices, mobile phone are the main sources of e-wastage in

India. Who were knows that a day will come when pen will replace by key board and diary and notebook by floppy, CD and pen drives. Even floppy is become a

history now a days so it shows the rapid change in technology is also a major cause of this waste.

severness of e-waste

E-waste contains over 1,000 different substances and chemicals, many of which are toxic and are likely to create serious problems for the environment and human

health if not handled properly. However, classification of e-waste as hazardous, or otherwise, depends on the amount

of hazardous constituents present in it. E-waste contains many toxics such as heavy metals, including lead, cadmium, mercury, Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs),

Poly Vinyl Chloride (PVC), etc, in some components.

Lead: Lead causes damage to the central and peripheral nervous systems, blood systems, kidney and reproductive system in humans. It also effects the endocrine

system, and impedes brain development among children. Lead tends to accumulate in the environment and has high acute and chronic effects on plants, animals and

microorganisms.

Cadmium: Toxic cadmium compounds accumulate in the human body, especially the kidneys._ Occurs in SMD chip resistors, infra-red detectors, and semiconductor

chips Some older cathode ray tubes contain cadmium.

Mercury: Mercury can cause damage to organs including the brain and kidneys, as well as the foetus. The developing foetus is highly vulnerable to mercury exposure.

When inorganic mercury spreads out in the water, it is transformed to methylated mercury which bio-accumulates in living

organisms and concentrates through the food chain, particularly via fish.

Plastics (including PVC): Dioxin is released when PVC is burned._ The largest volume of plastics (26%) used inelectronics has been PVC. PVC elements are found

in cabling and computer housings_ Many computer moldings are now made with the somewhat more benign ABS plastics.

Barium: Studies have shown that short-term exposure to barium causes brain swelling, muscle
weakness, damage to the heart, liver, and spleen. _ Barium is a soft silvery-white metal that is
used in computers in the front panel of a CRT, to protect users from radiation.

Beryllium:
Exposure to beryllium can cause lung cancer. Beryllium also causes a skin disease that is
characterized by poor wound healing and wartlike bumps. Studies have shown that people can
develop beryllium disease many years following the last exposure. Beryllium is commonly
found on motherboards and finger clips _ It is used as a copper-beryllium alloy to strengthen
connectors and tiny plugs while maintaining electrical conductivity
Toners: Inhalation is the primary exposure pathway, and acute exposure may lead to respiratory
tract irritation. Carbon black has been classified as a class 2B carcinogen, possibly carcinogenic
to humans. Reports indicate that color toners (cyan, magenta and yellow) contain heavy metals.
Found in the plastic printer cartridge containing black and color toners.
Phosphor and additives: The phosphor coating on cathode ray tubes contains heavy
metals,such as cadmium, and other rare earth metals, for example, zinc, vanadium as additives.
These metals and their compounds are very toxic. This is a serious hazard posed for those who
dismantle CRTs by hand._ Phosphor is an inorganic chemical compound that is applied as a coat
on the interior of the CRT faceplate. Phosphor affects the display resolution and luminance of the
images that is seen in the monitor.

It is a well known fact that most owners of these technologies are from the government, public
or private sectors, they prefer replacing an old computer with a new one, rather than upgrading it.
Even in the secondary market the older models have little demand. Owing to the narrowing profit
margins between resale and dismantling, the sale of these computers to the scrap market for
material recovery is rising. Various departments of the government, public as well as private
sectors are feeding old electronic appliances such as computers, telephones, etc, into the waste
stream, at an increasingly fast rate. Other sources of e-waste are retailers, individual households,
foreign embassies, PC manufacturing units, players of the secondary market, and imported
electronic scrap from other countries.

Measures to minimize e-waste

Ban hazardous waste imports-