E-Waste Management As the dependence on electronic and digital services has increased in our everyday life, the amount of electronic waste i.e. e-waste is also increasing in the same proportion. Electronic items that are no longer used due to loss of productivity or technical failure become e-waste. E-waste management in the country is an important part of the Swachh Bharat, Smart City, and Digital India campaigns. According to the Global E-Waste Monitor, 2020 report released by the United Nations, in 2019, about 53.6 million metric tons of e-waste was generated in the world. By the end of this decade, it will be 74 million metric tonnes.
According to the Union Environment Ministry, 10,14,961.2 tonnes of e-waste was generated in the country in the financial year 2019-20. Two lakh tonnes of e-waste is generated in Delhi alone. This is 10 percent of the total e-waste generated in the country. E-waste management in the country will have to be worked on many fronts. The first objective of the circular economy is the sustainable production and consumption of resources. People have to be sensitized about the use of commodities. The collection, recycling, and re-manufacturing of e-waste is an important part of the whole process of e-waste management and disposal. For this, the public and private sectors will have to create infrastructure jointly.
Responsibility for end-to-end disposal of e-waste
The draft E-Waste Management Rules-2022 presented by the Ministry of Environment decides the participation of producers, recycling organizations, and regulators in the management of e-waste. However, the number of recycling companies in the country is very less. In the new rules, the category of e-waste has been increased from 21 to 95. According to the new draft, now the brand or producer will have to take back a proportion of their products at the end of their productivity (utility). To do so, they have been given the option of appointing a Producer Responsibility Organization (PRO). In this system, the PRO is given the responsibility of end-to-end disposal of e-waste. In a way, PROs collect, transport, and recycle e-waste on behalf of the producers. The PRO model may be new to the manufacturing industry in India, but it is being adopted globally.
Switzerland, Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, and the Scandinavian countries have adopted this as a best practice in e-waste disposal. Scientists are considering small electronic waste as the biggest challenge. The small e-waste category includes electronic items that are not used for a very long time. Cell phones, electric toothbrushes, toasters, cameras, etc. come under this category. When these electronic devices, which are an important part of our daily routine, fail, they reach under the soil or into the sea through the dustbin. According to UN estimates, 22 million tonnes of small-sized e-waste were generated in the world in 2019. This is 40 percent of the 57 million tonnes of e-waste generated during this period. By 2030, 30 million tonnes of small-sized e-waste is expected to be generated. Small-sized e-waste is often burnt in the open. Due to this, toxic substances reach the air.
real-time database
ESG (Environment, Social and Corporate Governance) reporting is being made mandatory for the corporate sector across the world. E-waste management should be included in ESG and environmental initiatives. The challenge of managing e-waste is also affected by the quality of the items. Electronic products become part of the value chain in a short period due to the non-durable nature of the goods. In such a situation, including the designing of electronic products, their efficiency will also have to be increased. With the fast pace, India is moving towards a digital economy, e-waste poses a major challenge. A real-time database of e-waste collection and recycling in the country has to be strengthened.
School curriculum is being linked to training and practical education through the National Education Policy 2020. Universities can promote knowledge and innovation in the field of waste management. Higher education institutions on the waste management front in the Nordic countries are participants in the data gathering and analysis program. In this, the applications of Artificial Intelligence, the Internet of Things, and Cloud computing are very helpful.
Dr Randeep Guleria, Chairman of the Institute of Internal Medicine Respiratory and Sleep Medicine
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