Following The Trail Of Toxic E-Waste

Where does all the electronic refuse our society generates end up? Some of it is shipped illegally from the U.S. to China, reports Scott Pelley, where it is harming the environment and people.

Source: CBS News

Waste Management and Recycling

Concern over our environment has seen a massive increase in recycling globally which has grown to be an important part of modern civilization.

As a society we manage to produce a vast amount of materials that are just thrown away, waste management is the collection of these materials in order to recycle them and as a result decrease their effects on our health, our surroundings and the environment. Practices in waste management are different the world over, dependent on certain issues such as how developed the nation is, if it is a city or rural area and so on. The management of waste is not only the responsibility of governments and the manufacturer, but also an individual’s duty. Waste management is an issue that has to be dealt with daily in order to control the huge amounts of waste currently passing through our towns and cities.

Australia is one such country that is giving attention and priority to how it handles its waste, and this has resulted in the emergence of companies offering environmental services for resource recovery and recycling. To reduce the impacts of waste and unwanted resources on the environment it is important to educate the populace about waste items and how they can be processed or recycled.

There are several resource recovery systems in place and facilities that have been developed to deal with these issues. Natural recovery systems make use of of food, organic and green waste and are then dealt with in in-vessel compost systems, whilst materials collected for recycling include glass, plastic bags, metals and paper. Automated and manual methods are used to sort materials from construction sites, such as brick, tiles and concrete and after being sorted are re-used for road base and construction materials. E-waste (electronic waste) comes from items such as old computers which are taken apart in order to recover materials like cabling, aluminium, copper, glass and plastics. Bioreactor landfills are deployed to generate green energy through the capturing of biogas from municipal waste. There is also help provided for councils to award innovative technologies which can be used to recover recyclables.

We can all help out when it comes to waste management and recycling products. It may not seem effective to recycle products as a household, but put all those households together and you will produce a result. It is each person’s responsibility to do what they can to conserve resources, reduce landfill volumes and produce new materials using less energy. Some cities in developed nations keep a record of their resource recovery systems in order to identify if they are working effectively, evaluate them and update them if necessary, this information can then be passed onto other areas or nations to help them in the recycle challenge. Deciding to recycle is a simple step and surprisingly easy to start. If you are unsure where to begin there are lots of resources, including the local environmental sector, who will be eager to teach you how to recycle your leftover waste and check on the internet too for information.

Michiel van Kets provides articles for Renee Fry who is the owner of Veolia Australia’s environmental services leader in all facets of waste management and recycling in Australia.

Maharashtra Association Will Help Draft E-Waste Policy

With the rise in use of electronic goods, the amount of e-waste produced has also risen to alarming levels. To address the issue, the Maharashtra E-Waste Association (Mewa) has been invited by the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) to get suggestions on the draft of the E-Waste (Handling and Management) Rules, 2010.

The initiative is being taken by Clean Sweep Forum (CSF), an NGO which has been advocating proper waste management for the last eight years.

The NGO, along with MEWA, is now organising a seminar with all the stakeholders to come up with an agreed set of comments and suggestions to be considered for the e-waste policy.

“We have been waiting for the government to formulate the rules since a long time. Since the last two years, we have been organising awareness programmes for the public, students and others on e-waste. It is imperative for us to study the draft rules and give our considered views on it as it will affect us directly,” said Raj Kumar Sharma, Convenor, CSF.

E-waste needs to be recycled and reused, say experts. However, there is no set policy on e-waste and most of its disposal is done by the informal sector.

“While developed countries have a process to dismantle and recycle, in India there is no such policy. Most of it goes to the ragpickers who then sell it to the informal industry in Saki Naka and Dharavi where cheap TVs or computer sets are made out of it,” said Sharma.
Source :DNA

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

Electronic Waste Management

In the 1970s, Gordon E. Moore theorized that computer processing power doubles about every 18 months, especially relative to cost or size. His theory, known as Moore’s Law, has proved largely true. Thinner, sleeker, and faster computers are regularly produced and sold as replacements for their larger, slower predecessors. While this is good news for the both the consumer and the manufacturer it results in an ever increasing source of electronic garbage.

And certainly this phenomenon is not limited to computers. Most consumer electronics and even unsophisticated household appliances are built with internal processors which are also doomed to eventual obsolescence. Each day, various types of consumer electronics are constantly being upgraded or completely scrapped in favor of technological advancements. In the process, scores of old VCRs, Walkman cassette decks and bulky video cameras become what is known as “e-waste” or electronic waste.

Certain e-waste items are particularly harmful. For instance, CRT-based computer and television monitors contain on average four to eight pounds of lead, a highly toxic heavy metal. Unfortunately, improper disposal of e-waste creates a significant burden on landfills because toxic substances can leach into the soil and groundwater. Absent recycling, the problem could escalate.

The total annual global volume of e-waste is expected to reach about 40 million metric tons. This amount is likely to increase because e-waste is growing at three times the rate of other municipal waste. Although e-waste accounts for only one to four percent of municipal waste, it may be responsible for as much as 70 percent of the heavy metals in landfills, including 40 percent of all lead. As individuals and corporations alike become more conscious of the increasingly unfortunate effects of this type of ecological pollution the question of how to properly handle e-waste becomes an important one. Where in the past consumers were happy to bury and forget all kinds of waste now they are concerned with the ultimate effects of such behavior.

Some governments are getting involved in the problem by passing laws or advocating changes in the waste management policies of the private sector. Government officials feel it is important that not just companies, but consumers are made aware of the issue, with many pressing for educational efforts geared at educating the general public about the dangers of ignoring and the potential benefits of recycling e-waste. Many corporations and waste management companies also feel it’s of the utmost importance that the average consumer understands which electronics need special care when it comes time to dispose or recycle them, pointing out that even though large companies do produce a large amount of e-waste the bulk comes from individuals.

One solution is that e-waste should not be considered waste. It is a resource. Useful materials such as glass, copper, aluminum, plastic and other components can often be extracted and reused. Some manufacturers have even referred to e-waste as a valuable source of materials. Many landfills and waste processing plants have instituted new procedures to assure that the valuable materials found in e-waste are not accidentally buried and forgotten. Waste management services in Australia, Asia, Europe and North America have begun concerted efforts to capture these precious resources rather than let them be discarded forever. Some companies around the globe even have made a business model based on the excavation of disused landfills. Recycling valuable materials form years gone by.

With an increasing array of environmentally-friendly options now available, people should consider recycling or donating their old electronic devices. With either choice, we can reduce the amount of e-waste and actually put our old items to good use.

William Wright writes articles for Veolia Environmental Services, http://www.veoliaes.com.au/industrial-services/waste-management/ a provider of effective and sustainable waste management in Australia, http://www.veoliaes.com.au/commercial-services/waste-collection-and-recycling with over 30 years experience in waste services in New South Wales. Veolia is an established industry leader on e-waste recycling in Adelaide. Visit http://www.veoliaes.com.au/ for more information.

Source: ArticleCity

Guidelines For Environmentally Sound Management of Electronic Waste

Central Pollution Control Board: India
Guidelines For Environmentally Sound Management of Electronic Waste

CPCB Guidelines