National Conference on Challenges in Environment Management: Mines and Industries (CEMMI-17)

National Conference on
Challenges in Environment Management: Mines and Industries (CEMMI-17)
20th – 21th April 2017

Organized by
Mining Engineering Department, Goa College of Engineering, Farmagudi

Poster Presentation
Presenters: Ronan Revadker, Riya Sinai Sambari
Faculty Incharge:-Gaurang S Patkar
Paper presented: E-Waste Management

Introduction: According to the OCED (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) any appliance using an electronic power supply that has reached its end-of-life would come under WEEE. WEEE (waste from electronic and electrical equipment’s) is a special category of waste that has received great deal of attention over past 15 years. 1980 was the year when the great digital revolution started and has not ceased till date. The digital revolution provided variety of products which were not only economical but also easy to use therefore they invaded our households completely. They are now easier and convenient to replace rather than getting them repair.

International E-Waste Scenario: According to studies about 4000 tons per hour of E-waste is generated worldwide. It is difficult to make direct country-to-country comparisons regarding e-waste quantities, because each country has as different categories of appliances counted in e-waste and different methodologies of estimation.

E-Waste Scenario in India: In present times if we study closely e-waste is one of the fastest growing pollution problems which are increasing almost three times than that of municipal waste globally. With the increase in consumption of electronic goods and also with their usage pattern the generation of e-waste also increases. As there is no separate collection of e-waste in India, no reliable figures are available as yet to quantify the e-waste generation.

Sources of E-Waste
Manufacturer: According to surveys conducted about 50% of PC’s which are sold all over the country are basically from the secondary market and are reassembled on the old components. The rest of market share cover by MNC’s (30%) and Indian brands (20%).

Consumer: About 22% of junk computers are generated from Indian household. The routine process of getting rid of obsolete computers include exchanging from retailers or pass on the same to friends or relatives.

Import of e-waste: Import of e-waste is legally prohibited no doubt the reports prove that lots of e-waste is imported from abroad. The Huge Amount of E-Waste Not Recycled Can Be Accounted For By:
Storage: As a common practice most of the old electronic goods are stored by people in the houses due to this the chances of being effectively used are reduced to a greater extent.

Landfill/Incineration: Most the people in the Indian house hold mix domestic and electronic waste together, which ends up in a landfill or is being incinerated. Hence lot of toxic chemicals are produced which pollute the environment.

Reuse and Export: The developed nations export old computers and phones to the developing countries for reuse and recycling. This is recycled using informal recycling and is a major cause of spreading pollution.