Ahmedabad: At a time when cities are struggling tohandle growing mounds of garbage, electronic waste (e-waste) is fast becoming abigger challenge than expected. And, believe it or not, according to a recent
nationwide survey, Ahmedabad has been found to be the sixth-largest producer of
e-waste in the country.
According to a report, Electronic Waste Management in
India, prepared by Frost and Sullivan in partnership with Assocham, Mumbai is
the largest producer of e-waste followed by New Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai,
Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad and Pune in that order.
Quoting from the Central Pollution Control Board,
2013 records, the survey said Gujarat is one of the top 10 states that
collectively generate more than 70% e-waste in the country.
“Every year, Ahmedabad produces 17,000 metric tonne
e-waste. With rising income levels, the purchasing power of Amdavadis has gone
up, too,” said Manju Negi, deputy director of Assocham, New Delhi.
Surprisingly, around 90 per cent of the e-waste ends
up in the informal sector because of lack of regulations and improper
collection centres, claimed environmentalists.
“There is a gap in the collection and disposal of
e-waste. All equipments should have a unique code to track them and maintain
records. But sadly, other than a few large companies, no one has implemented
the rules properly,” said Mahesh Pandya, an environmentalist based in
Ahmedabad.
According to the new e-waste handling rules
established in 2012, electrical and electronic equipment manufacturers have to
track and collect their products when they reach their end of life.
Shedding further light, Goldie Shah of ECS
Corporation said the e-waste law also specifies that any bulk consumer of
electronics is liable to send the waste to government-authorised e-waste
cycler. Failure to do so is considered illegal.
“Inability of the government to spread knowledge and
take stringent steps against these corporate companies, most of the e-waste is
landing in the hands of traditional scrap vendors,” said an e-waste worker.
E-waste is both hazardous and non-hazardous in
nature. On an average, e-waste comprises iron and steel (50 per cent), plastics
(21 per cent), non-ferrous metals (13 per cent) and other constituents (16 per
cent). Lead, mercury, cadmium, arsenic, etc present in e-waste endanger the
environment, revealed the report.
Due to lack of awareness about e-waste, people give
away electronics goods to scrap vendors, which are then disposed of in dumping
yards.
“Vendors take away all valuable electronics parts and
dispose of the remaining parts in the open which is harmful to both environment
and one’s health,” said Prakash, another environmentalist.
To address this problem, activists suggest rewards
for e-waste suppliers to encourage them to follow rules. The report also stated
that a few municipalities such as the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) are
in the process of awarding contracts to set up e-waste collection centres.
Repeated calls and text messages to AMC and the state pollution control board
failed to elicit any response though.
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