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Editorial Posted On Wednesday, May 26, 2010 | In the absence of an effective method for collection of e-waste and managing the hazardous constituents, some e-waste ends up at the scrap market, which then recycles them, using high polluting technologies- Syed Ali Mujtaba
The death of a person in New Delhi's scrap market and hospitalisation of seven others has brought to the fore the dangers of radioactivity and the urgent need for a national e-waste management policy to avert any such incidents in future.
India, it is estimated generates approximately 1, 50,000 tonnes of e-waste every year. This is produced because the resurgent growth of the economy is dependent on electronic hardware for household, industrial and office automation. However, the electronic hardware is generating electronic waste that has a huge potential to cause enormous harm to human health and environment. Therefore, a commitment to eco-responsibility is the sine qua non for the society, economy and the environment.
E-waste is any broken or unwanted electronic appliances which include computers, entertainment electronics, mobile phones and other electronic items, that are discarded. The main reason why e-waste has become a global concern is because of the presence of toxic and hazardous substances such as lead, cadmium, mercury, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), arsenic barium, beryllium and brominated flame retardants etc.
In the absence of an effective method for collection of e-waste and managing the hazardous constituents, some e-waste ends up at the scrap market, which then recycles them, using high polluting technologies. Some other e-waste is being disposed off in land fills resulting in high environmental risk and health hazards to both humans and animals.
Therefore, it's imperative for an early formulation of a national e-waste policy that may clearly spell out the methods to safeguard and dispose off the toxic material. Such a policy should appropriately reflect the concerns of the various stakeholders which include the end users-- we the people of India, as well as the views of the practitioners in the field, both in the organized and the unorganized sector.
Taking a lead, the southern State of Tamil Nadu has recently unveiled a comprehensive Environmentally Sound Management (ESM) policy on e-waste. It tries to address issues pertaining to public health and environment that has grown due to the impact of the 'ineffective and continuous disposal' of e-waste. The new e-waste policy would have a single window facility to guide investors. It will educate both the public and officials concerned on how to avoid recycling electronic equipment more often, recommending changing only the component in an electronic item.
The policy sets forth the position of the State government on e-waste management by identifying the roles and responsibilities of all stakeholders, including the public, in reducing the generation of e-waste and providing a system for its collection, segregation and recycling. The policy would be implemented in a structured manner by detailing the action programme with definite timelines, setting up a monitoring committee, promoting e-waste recycling as a socially viable industry in the State and involving the small and medium enterprises.
The State government, its IT department and the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) are responsible for formulation and implementation of the policy. The Board is vested with the responsibility of effectively implementing it and laying down the requirements and procedures for a recycler.
The policy emphasizes the important role that the corporations, municipalities and panchayats, play in the collection of e-waste, especially from household and other end-users, and its segregation from other household waste. They will also have to send the collected waste to authorized collection centres or registered recyclers for recycling.
The necessity for e-waste policy arose because a survey carried out by a non-governmental organization in the State revealed that the e-waste problem had assumed staggering proportions -over 21,810 tonnes of e-waste in 2009 alone. The survey was based on the 'market supply method', in which five components like televisions, mobile phones, computers, washing machines and refrigerator were taken into account.
Taking a cue from Tamil Nadu's e-waste management, the Centre should initiate a national policy for complete national level assessment, covering all the cities and all the sectors. Such base line study must envelope inventories, existing technical and policy measures required for emergence of national e-waste policy and action plan for eco-friendly, economic e-waste management.
The study should also culminate in identifying potentially harmful substances and testing these for any adverse health and environmental effects for suggesting precautionary measures. This apart, the national policy may create a public-private participatory forum of decision-making, problem resolution in e-waste management. This could be a Working Group comprising Regulatory Agencies, NGOs, Industry Associations, experts etc. to keep pace with the temporal and spatial changes in structure and content of e-waste.
There is need for creation of a knowledge data base on anticipating the risks, ways of preventing and protecting from likely damage and safe and timely disposal of e-waste. The Government should promote Information, Education and Communication (IEC) activities in schools, colleges, industry etc. to enhance this knowledge. Additionally, it must create a data base on best global practices and failure analyses for development and deployment of efficacious e-waste management and disposal practices within the country.
The policy should device ways and means to encourage beneficial reuse/recycling of e-waste, catalyzing business activities that use such waste. It should formulate and regulate occupational health safety norms for e-waste recycling, now mainly confined to the informal sector. Besides, it should review the trade policy and exim classification codes to plug the loopholes, which are often being misused for cross-border dumping of e-waste into the country.
Indeed, the national policy should insist on stringent enforcement against wanton infringement of the Basel convention and e-waste dumping by preferring incarceration over monetary penalties for demonstrating deterrent impact. The e-waste policy should foster partnership with manufacturers and retailers for recycling services by creating an enabling environment so as dispose e-waste scientifically at economic costs.
The policy should mandate sustained capacity building for industrial e-waste handling for policy makers, managers, controllers and operators. It should enhance consumer awareness regarding the potential threat to public health and environment by electronic products, if not disposed properly.
In fact, the policy should enforce labeling of all computer monitors, television sets and other household/industrial electronic devices for declaration of hazardous material content with a view to identifying environmental hazards and ensuring proper material management and e-waste disposal.
Importantly, the policy could announce incentives for growth of e-waste disposal agencies so that remediation of environmental damage, threats of irreversible loss and lack of scientific knowledge do not pose hazardous to human health and environment. Simultaneously, as a proactive step, municipal bodies must be involved in the disposal of e-waste lest it becomes too late for their intervention, should large handling volumes necessitate it.
In addition, the e-waste policy should consider gradual introduction of enhanced producer responsibility into Indian process, practices and procedures so that preventive accountability gains preponderance over polluter immunity.
Last but not the least, the Government should carve out an inclusive e-waste management policy, as for meeting the need for finding an "India Unique Solution", that strikes a visionary balance between precepts and praxis for sustainable management of e-waste. Such a policy alone can bring the desired paradigm shift for our society, economy and the environment.
-INFA
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Friday, September 03, 2010