Managing E-Waste; India poised for EPR?

It’s time we do not bank totally on producers. Rather, the government should help in setting up collection and disposal facilities for e waste. B K Soni, chairman, Eco Recycling Ltd, discusses this and more with ET bureau.

“If e waste were not hazardous, it would still be a nuisance but it would no longer be deadly & destructive to human health & viable ecosystems. If the manufacturing was done cleanly without hazardous inputs & processes, it would be possible to overcome the worst of the high-tech environmental nightmare” — Jim Puckett in Exporting Harm: The High-Tech Trashing of Asia, published by the Basel Action Network.

The above words speak volumes on e-waste and how the problem of managing such waste could be detrimental to the global eco system. Like many agencies and countries around the world, there is a growing consciousness on the issue in India.

The government has drafted new rules that make a producer of electrical and electronic equipment responsible for the collection and appropriate disposal of e-waste generated at the end of life of its products. The draft called E-waste (Management and Handling) Rules 2010 was made public on the website of the Ministry of Environment and Forests in May and was considered necessary for ‘public interest’.

Side by side with these rules, the government has also decided to fund establishment of e-waste treatment facility as part of its waste management programme for 140 highly contaminated sites in the country.

However, the two decisions do not seem to be converging at any point though both revolve round e-waste. While the financial package stands to be a move merely on paper with no amount of commitment attached to it, both the decisions should have been clubbed together and made public for better tackling of the issue.

Also, the fact that the draft rules are aimed at ‘the interest of the public’ only, points to the fact that animals and plants, which stand to suffer from hazardous materials in e wastes, have not been included. Such a rule seems to have neglected the environmental problems at a larger scale.

On whether the Extended Producers Responsibility (EPR) concept (stated in Chapter II, responsibilities of producers, point number 3), will be an effective tool to meet the objectives remains to be ascertained. In reality, this seems to be a move in keeping with the EPR rules in the EU or the US.

In India, EPR could stand for ‘Environment Protection Ruled out’ as the larger cause of environment is missing. This seems an impractical move on behalf of the government. If e wastes are known to have several recoverable material then why is it termed as ‘waste’?

Waste in context to electronic devices have seen the process of change in the form of commodity to product and product to commodity. If this be the case, then there seems to be no ‘waste’.

It seems to be a move with vested interests whereby what can be reused is also termed as waste.

The draft rules suggest registration of refurbishers, dealers and other intermediaries. Is it in reality for the Pollution Control Board or other nodal agencies to ‘regulate’ so many entities?

In drafting this rule, the main point of logistics has been ruled out. If the chain begins at the manufacturer’s level and moves on to the dealer and then to the consumer, one main aspect of ‘intermediaries’ such as the transporter who works for the dealer or the repairing company that the dealer has access to, are also part of the process before recycling happens.

These ‘support services’ have no direct link to the producer while the rules say that all such support services also need to be registered. The intention of the government seems defocused here.

For effective implementation of rules, it is imperative to register only the producers and recyclers. As 90% of the recycling process gets over at the dismantling level, then where is the need of having a separate set of dismantlers and recyclers?

As material flow is not so high, not everybody needs to be involved in 100% recycling. Rather, 10% can be outsourced. Question also arises if e waste is already part of the Hazardous Waste Rules of 2008, then where was the need to draft new set of rules?

While there’s no significant difference in the two, the present set of rules seem much more diluted in nature and is largely aimed at protecting the interests of brand manufacturers.

E waste being hazardous, government should be focusing more on inventory movement rather than focus on commercial transactions.

The government should support the recycler to reach a level of self sustainability. If rules need to be implemented what is needed is creating of awareness and building on the existing facilities. Government role should end at the breakeven point and stretch no further.

It could help management of e waste through other proactive means such as concessional loans, duty free imports of machinery or private-public equity support. One big support that the govt can extend is to give recyclers the inventory of e waste it has rather than auctioning and giving the same to kabadis. One-fourth of the country’s e waste production is in govt departments. This could well be given to recyclers.

An enhanced number of recyclers are sure to tackle better the problem of e waste. Companies such as Eco Recycling Ltd have kept in mind environment issues while calling for an end to greediness and selfish motives.

It is time for a fresh call. One of the major challenges before the recycler needs to be addressed immediately. Selling of e waste to kabadis for highest gains should be stopped.

The right time for EPR has not yet come to India. It’s better not to bank completely on producers. Rather the govt should help in setting up collection and disposal facilities.

What remains to be seen is the intention of the government and the involved parties to aid e waste management in the best possible manner.

Eco Recycling Limited (Ecoreco)

Ecoreco provides full spectrum of activities covered under e waste management — right from collection from the door steps of the manufacturers/customers, segregation of remarketable components/equipment, dismantling of end of life equipment, shredding to reduce sizes and ultimate disposal of hazardous substances with the help of designated facility to avoid any negative impact on the environment and ecology and to meet the requirement prescribed by the MOEF/CPCB for the disposal of Hazardous Waste Management.

The company has developed the first-of-its-kind-in-India “Recycling on Wheels” facility for safe & secured destruction of data devices containing confidential & personal information at the client premises itself.

Ecoreco is now ready to commercialise yet another innovation of extraction of precious metals out of the printed circuit boards & other complicated components.

On implementation of this integrated facility, the printed circuit boards and other components which are being presently exported to Europe, will stay in India. Ecoreco invites one and all to become a member of Green Enterprise. Just log on to www.ecoreco.com and do your bit!

(The auhor B K Soni is chairman of Eco Recycling Ltd)
Source: Economic Times

India's Poor Risk 'Slow Death' Recycling 'E-Waste'

NEW DELHI (AFP) – Young rag-pickers sifting through rubbish are a common image of India's chronic poverty, but destitute children face new hazards picking apart old computers as part of the growing "e-waste" industry.

Asif, aged seven, spends his days dismantling electronic equipment in a tiny, dimly-lit unit in east Delhi along with six other boys.

"My work is to pick out these small black boxes," he said, fingers deftly prising out integrated circuits from the pile of computer remains stacked high beside him.

His older brother Salim, 12, is also hard at work instead of being at school. He is extracting tiny transistors and capacitors from wire boards.

The brothers, who decline to reveal how much they earn a day, say they are kept frantically busy as increasing numbers of computers, printers and other electronic goods are discarded by offices and homes.

Few statistics are known about the informal "e-waste" industry, but a United Nations report launched in February described how mountains of hazardous waste from electronic products are growing exponentially in developing countries.

It said India would have 500 percent more e-waste from old computers in 2020 than in 2007, and 18 times more old mobile phones.

The risks posed to those who handle the cast-offs are clear to T.K. Joshi, head of the Centre for Occupational and Environmental Health at the Maulana Azad Medical College in New Delhi.

He studied 250 people working in the city as recyclers and dismantlers over 12 months to October 2009 and found almost all suffered from breathing problems such as asthma and bronchitis.

"We found dangerously high levels -- 10 to 20 times higher than normal -- of lead, mercury and chromium in blood and urine samples," he told AFP.

"All these have a detrimental effect on the respiratory, urinary and digestive systems, besides crippling immunity and causing cancer."

Toxic metals and poisons enter workers' bloodstreams during the laborious manual extraction process and when equipment is crudely treated to collect tiny quantities of precious metals.

"The recovery of metals like gold, platinum, copper and lead uses caustic soda and concentrated acids," said Joshi.

"Workers dip their hands in poisonous chemicals for long hours. They are also exposed to fumes of highly concentrated acid."

Safety gear such as gloves, face masks and ventilation fans are virtually unheard of, and workers -- many of them children -- often have little idea of what they are handling.

"All the workers we surveyed were unaware of the dangers they were exposed to. They were all illiterate and desperate for employment," said Joshi. "Their choice is clear -- either die of hunger or of metal poisoning."

And he warned exposure to e-waste by-products such as cadmium and lead could result in a slow, painful death.

"They can't sleep or walk," he said. "They are wasted by the time they reach 35-40 years of age and incapable of working."

There are no estimates of how many people die in India from e-waste poisoning as ill workers generally drift back to their villages when they can no longer earn a living.

"The irony is that the amounts of gold and platinum they extract are traces -- fractions of a milligramme," said Priti Mahesh, programme coordinator of the New Delhi-based Toxic Link environment group.

"Computers, televisions and mobile phones are most dangerous because they have high levels of lead, mercury and cadmium -- and they have short life-spans so are discarded more," she said.

The Indian government has proposed a law to regulate the e-waste trade, but Delhi environment group the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) said any legislation would miss the army of informal workers such as brothers Asif and Salim.

"The proposed law says only big firms should be in the business of recycling and dismantling," said Kushal Pal Singh Yadav, a CSE campaigner.

"This is not going to work because the informal sector already has a cheap system of collection, disposal or recycling in place -- so people will use that."

For Joshi, the sight of children working in appalling conditions taking computers apart is as potent a symbol of India's deep troubles as rag-pickers sorting through stinking household rubbish dumps.

"India needs laws which will protect workers' interests, especially the vulnerable and children. We have a lot to learn from Western societies about workers' rights," he said.
Source: Yahoo News

How to become an e-Stewards Recycler

The e-Stewards Certification program combines a highly rigorous, mainstream verification system with the highest standard for electronics recycling. This standard (the e-Stewards Standard for Responsible Recycling and Reuse of Electronics®) fully incorporates ISO 14001, the  global standard for environmental management systems. All Certified e-Stewards Recyclers will therefore be both ISO 14001 certified and meet industry-specific requirements for globally responsible recycling and refurbishment of electronic equipment.

If a company or organization wishes to become certified, the following are steps typically taken to achieve e-Stewards certification. Details follow:

    * Review the Standard
    * Review the Licensing Agreement
    * Get quotes from Certifying Bodies to conduct the audits
    * Evaluate costs
    * Prepare
    * Schedule Stage 1 audit
    * Address any issues identified
    * Schedule Stage 2 audit
    * Execute BAN’s Marketing and Licensing agreement
    * Receive Certification
    * Promote your company as a Certified e-Stewards Recycler!

Here are the details:

   1. Review the e-Stewards Standard and supporting materials.  This should include reviewing the current Sanctioned Interpretations of the Standard, to understand any clarifications or changes to the Standard.  Note: there is a fee for the full standard although you may view the free, non-ISO version for information which is for information purposes only.
   2. Review the requirements for multi-site organizations (see below), if applicable, and the e-Stewards Recycler Licensing Agreement with BAN, which is signed after the completion of the audit process
   3. Optional: conduct a gap analysis between your current system and operations and what is needed to operate in conformance with the e-Stewards Standard.
   4. Set up, document, and internally evaluate your environmental management system to operate in conformance with the e-Stewards Standard including ISO 14001.  Operate your EMS long enough to obtain necessary records.
   5. 3-6 months prior to readiness for auditing, request bids from one or more e-Stewards Certification Bodies (CB) for auditing services, including all e-waste locations in developed countries, and the 3 year audit cycle (see “Multi-site e-Stewards Recyclers” below).  If your organization is already ISO 14001 certified, request information on transferring your existing ISO 14001 certification and therefore reduced costs for your initial e-Stewards audit.
   6. Contract with a CB of choice and schedule the Stage 1 audit, to determine readiness for the Stage 2 audit.
   7. Schedule and complete the Stage 2 audit, and resolve all non-conformities identified during the audit. This may require a return audit.
   8. Sign a marketing and licensing agreement with BAN, and pay an annual fee based on annual revenue generated by e-waste operations.  Plan your marketing strategy, with support from BAN.
   9. Receive accredited certification of operations to ISO 14001 and e-Stewards Standard.
  10. Begin marketing your operation(s) as a certified e-Stewards company.

After initial certification, auditors return annually at a minimum, to perform surveillance audits (at lower costs) and to ensure consistent conformity with the Standard over time.  The certification is for a three years period, as is typical for ISO certifications.  After this, a new 3 year audit cycle begins.
Multi-site e-Stewards Recyclers:

Companies/organizations with e-waste recycling operations at multiple locations are required to have all locations certified to the standard within 18 months of the issuance of the first certificate for any individual site, and must commit to and contract with its certifying body for certification of all its operational sites at the outset. This certification can be held either in the form of individual site certificates or in a single multi-site certificate which encompasses all sites.
e-Stewards program costs

There are three costs associated with e-Stewards Certification:

   1. Internal preparation costs
   2. Contracting with a Certifying Body for the audits
   3. The Marketing and Licensing Fee required to use the e-Stewards brand

For complete information on evaluating costs, see e-Stewards Recycling Certification Costs.

List of Authorized Recyclers In India

List of units registered with MOEF/CPCB as Recyclers/Re-Processors having environmentally sound management facilities in India.

There are total 14 units granted Registration as on 29-March-2010.
Authorized Recyclers