Poorly treated e-waste threat to public health
Efforts by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests to put the spotlight on India's e-waste management crisis are much appreciated. On Wednesday, Mr Prakash Javadekar told Parliament that the Government will improve India's capacity to process e-waste, including setting up an integrated recycling facility, and raise awareness about the issue. India currently generates more than 2.7 million tonnes of e-waste every year — this includes a variety of objects and materials, from computers and cell phones to household appliances and car parts; just about anything that has an electrical component. However, much of this waste is not disposed properly. This, in turn, contributes to environmental pollution and poses a direct threat to human health. The problem will only taken on menacing proportions as an economically resurgent India's growing population buys an increasing number of consumer goods, all of which will add to the e-waste pile. Well before the end of this decade, the country will be generating 500 times more e-waste. As of now, almost 90 per cent of the e-waste is handled by the unorganised sector — in other words, the local kabari-wallah. lethal chemicals and toxic substances are ‘processed' in junk yards by unskilled workers who use crude techniques such as acid leaching and open air burning. Toxins are released into the air, water and soil, eventually impacting the health of the general population. Equally importantly, the labourers who are directly handling the waste are also put at immediate risk. Worse still, children are commonly employed in this industry in blatant violation of labour laws. They are the most vulnerable of the lot.
In 2011, the Union Government notified the E-Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, which was a good first step towards defusing the crisis. However, as expected, the Rules have not been implemented effectively. For example, the primary producer of the electronic or electrical product is responsible for its effective disposal. This is known as the Extended Producer Responsibility. A recent study done by an environmental NGO has found that even two years after the Rules came into effect, few corporates care about EPR. Not even a handful of mobile phone companies, mandated to take back products that are past their use-by date, have the mechanism to do so. There are few drop-off/take-back locations, and the ones that exist are not advertised. The public too is unaware that discarded products have to be returned to the producer. State pollution boards, which are responsible for monitoring e-waste management, are doing an equally shoddy job. Forget about hauling up non-compliant units, only seven States have made e-waste inventories. More than 19 States still have no infrastructure to deal with e-waste. Add to that the problem of illegally imported e-waste, dumped by the developing world, and it is clear why India’s poor management of e-waste is a ticking time-bomb.