Day 2 / Session 7

Handling e-Waste

WEEE is a humongous problem. Here’s a company that’s tackling it

Deepak Nanda

Deepak Nanda, Director, Infotrek Syscom made a rather interesting presentation about e-Waste. He started off with a few statistics that highlighted the magnitude of the problem. The total e-waste in India has been estimated to be 1,46,180 metric tons per year (Source: IRG systems South Asia). Waste is piling up and Mumbai tops the list at present with 11,017 tons followed by Delhi with 9,730 tons and Bangalore with 4,648 tons.

Electronic waste, also known as e-Waste or Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) is waste consisting of any broken or unwanted electrical or electronic appliance. It is a point of concern considering that many components of such equipment are considered toxic and are not biodegradable. Sources of WEEE include IT & telecom equipment, household appliances—large & small, consumer & lighting equipment, electrical & electronic tools, toys, leisure & sports equipment, medical devices and monitoring & control instruments.

Today there are over 75 million mobile users. That number is expected to increase to 200 million by end 2008. An estimated 30,000 computers become obsolete every year from the IT industry in Bangalore alone. At present, India has about 16 million computers and the base is expected to grow to 75 million computers by 2010. Over 2 million old PCs ready for disposal in India.

e-Waste is a safety issue. Discarded electronics contain hazardous materials. If disposed improperly, they pose a potential threat to human health and the environment. It may contaminate groundwater and e-Waste accounts for 40 percent of the lead and 75 percent of the heavy metals found in landfills. The good news is that silver and gold can be recycled from it.

Legislation exists to tackle e-Waste. The Basel Convention talks about the trans-boundary movement of hazardous substances, a ban on land and water fills as well as environment-friendly disposal. The European Union, Japan and Korea ratified a WEEE Directive with effect from 1st July, 2007. These geographies have extended the producers’ responsibility to take back equipment as well as mandated treatment by designated facilities. Products from January, 2007 onwards must be RoHS compliant in these countries. In India the Ministry of Environment and Forests is drafting legislation to hold e-Waste producers accountable for safe disposal.

Reducing e-Waste requires that we reduce, reuse, recycle and recover. The goal is nothing less than zero land fill.

During the course of the presentation Nanda played a Greenpeace video that touched upon the adverse effects of waste recycling when it is not done properly.

Addressing the CIOs, Nanda said, “We can solve your problems. We will pick up stuff from your plants and get rid of your e-Waste.” He addressed security concerns by saying, “We will destroy the hard disks at your office right in front of you before taking them away.”