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THE GIST of Editorial for UPSC Exams : 26 December 2018 (The afterlife of e-goods)
The afterlife of e-goods
Mains Paper 3: Science and Technology
Prelims level: e-goods, e-waste
Mains level: Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, robotics, nano-technology, bio-technology
and issues relating to intellectual property rights
Context
- Risky and rudimentary ways of metal recovery from the open burning of e-waste components such as circuit boards and wires have choked the city.
- All this has serious repercussions for the health of the residents, besides being environmentally unsafe.
- There are fears that a Moradabad-like polluted e-waste hub may be in the making in Jamnagar, next to the brass industry cluster there.
- A study by Assocham and NEC finds that a mere 5 per cent of India’s e-waste gets recycled, much less than the global recycling rate of only 20 per cent;
- 95 percent of India’s e-waste is managed by the unorganised sector (kabadiwalas, scrap dealers and dismantlers) using dangerous methods to recover metals from circuit-boards and wires.
E-waste problem in India
- E-waste is generated when electrical or electronic equipment (EEE) is discarded, or returned within warranty, by consumers, and also from manufacturing and repair rejects.
- Discarded laptops, desktops, cellphones and their batteries, air conditioners and television sets, cables and wires, tubelights and CFLs which contain mercury, are some examples of e-waste.
- E waste is one of the fastest growing waste streams in the world. The Global E-Waste Monitor estimates that 44.7 million tonnes (mt) of e-waste was generated in 2016.
- India was the fourth-largest generator (2 mt) after China (7.2 mt), the US (6.3 mt) and Japan (2.1 mt) in 2016.
- As Indians spend more on electronic items and appliances with rising incomes, e-waste is expected to continue to grow rapidly. While technology obsolescence creates e-waste (for example, landline phones, 2G vs 4G), power supply voltage surges which damage electronics are a major factor contributing to India’s e-waste.
- An additional problem arises when developed countries export their e-waste for recycling and/or disposal (legally or illegally) to developing countries, including India.
About the recycling process
- A study by ASSOCHAM and NEC finds that a mere 5 per cent of India’s e-waste gets recycled, much less than the global recycling rate of only 20 per cent;
- 95 percent of India’s e-waste is managed by the unorganised sector (kabadiwalas, scrap dealers and dismantlers) using dangerous methods to recover metals from circuit-boards and wires.
- Since electrical wires are almost invariably encased in PVC, which contains 57 per cent chlorine, the act of burning produces deadly dioxins.
- The smoke from such burning is known to cause cancer, damage the nervous system, and also poses several other health hazards.
- The National Green Tribunal has advised a ban on single-use PVC and short-life PVC products but not on wires and cables.
- The workers themselves ignore safety measures needed for their work.
- Not all e-waste is hazardous to manage when dismantling or recycling is carried out by the informal sector.
- It is usually a minuscule proportion of the total but has disastrous consequences for the environment and public health and for their own health if not carried out with due precaution.
- Only the metal recovery process from a 40 gm circuit board in a discarded clothes washing machine weighing 100 kg poses a challenge.
- The major portion of the discarded machine goes into the usual recycling streams, such as aluminium, iron, plastic and glass.
- India enjoys a frugal hand-me-down culture with a long line of re-users from a younger sibling to a maid to her village.
- As a result, our e-waste takes a lot longer to reach end of life.
What can we do with our end of life products?
- Cities should organise quarterly collection drives or provide drop -off centres. Producers should set up collection centres for EEE.
- Ideally, we should all purchase new products turning in our old ones for a discount, so that dealers become aggregators for channelising e-items to authorised dismantlers.
- Meanwhile, we as users can reduce e-waste by buying long-life items, and supporting repair and refurbishment.
- Producer responsibility organisations like Reverse Logistics Group and Karo Sambhav are paid by EEE producers to source and pay for e-waste.
- They should be encouraged to network with kabadiwalas. California’s Electronic Waste Recycling Act achieves this through an E-waste Recycling Fee on purchases of EEE.
- That helps reimburse numerous recycling centres offering free services to businesses and consumers.
Way forward
- Management of e-waste requires its dismantling, refurbishment or recycling and safe disposal The E Waste Management Rules 2016 address these issues.
- Extended producer responsibility is mandated to ensure effective plans for collection, setting up collection centres and buy back mechanisms or a deposit refund scheme.
- But the Rules need to be backed by enforcement of the regulatory framework, provision of the necessary infrastructure, and an enabling environment for compliance.
- There are close to 200 e-waste recyclers in India which are licensed by the CPCB, but most of them are also just dismantlers.
- Formal sector recyclers face stiff competition from informal operators who get away without following the regulations.
- Authorised recyclers incur large overhead costs for mandatory infrastructure for construction and equipment and the official and unofficial costs of compliance with multiple regulations.
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UPSC Prelims Questions:
Q.1) Which of the following are the main contributors of the e-waste in the world?
I. Refrigerators/freezers, washing machines, dishwashers
II. Small household appliances (toasters, coffee makers, irons, hairdryers)
III. Personal computers, telephones, mobile phones, laptops, printers, scanners, photocopiers
IV. Gas cylinder, chimneys & home appliances
A.Only I, II, III
B.Only I & II
C.Only I, III, IV
D.All of the above
Answer: A