Most discarded electronic products can be recycled, refurbished and reused, thereby reducing the overall impact on the environment, says ASSOCHAM.
The Associated Chambers Of Commerce And Industry Of India (ASSOCHAM), on Tuesday, said that less than 5% of India's total electronic waste (e-waste) gets recycled due to thee absence of proper infrastructure, legislation and a framework for disposing of electronic gadgets and products that have reached their dead-end.
Growing at a compounded annual growth rate of about 20%, India generates over 4.4 lakh tonnes of e-waste annually, and almost half of all the unused and end-of-life electronic products lie ideally in landfills, junkyards and warehouses, ASSOCHAM said, in an analysis, on the eve of World Environment Day on Tuesday.
The analysis says that computer equipment accounts for almost 68% of e-waste material, followed by telecommunication equipment (12%), electrical equipment (8%), medical equipment (7%) and other equipment, including the household e-waste accounting for the remaining 5%.
"Over 90% of the e-waste generated in India is managed by the unorganized sector, and the scrap dealers in this market dismantle the disposed-of products instead of recycling them," said ASSOCHAM Secretary General D S Rawat, while releasing the findings of the chamber's analysis.
"However, most of the discarded products can be recycled, refurbished and redeployed going down the value chain, and can be reused by a bit of reconstruction, thereby reducing the overall impact on the environment," said Rawat.
Interestingly, though the organized sector accounts for less than 10% of the recycling business, there is a huge scope for growth opportunities, as recyclers and suppliers are engaging with IT giants and other enterprises to dispose of e-devices efficiently.
"It is suggested that used computers and discarded consumer durables be collected and donated to the schools and orphanages run by non-profit organizations and other agencies involved in social causes through refurbishment, as this would also increase the life span of useful e-devices which have reportedly reached their end of life," said Rawat.
"Besides, e-recyclers must use the platform of industry bodies like ASSOCHAM to avoid bottlenecks in building an effective reverse supply chain for e-waste, and together support the government to promote advanced e-waste collection methods and create awareness amid consumers vis-à-vis the environmental impact of e-waste," said Rawat.
While submitting its views on the Guidelines To The Implementation Of E-Waste Rules 2011, to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) chairperson Mira Mehrishi, ASSOCHAM, on behalf of the industry, requested the government to allow electronic goods' producers with a collection centre facility to take Single Authorization for EPR and for the Collection centre under the same application.
"Such a move will also fall in line with the interest of the government that e-waste is channelized through authorized entities, as producers marketing their products across India are likely to appoint one or more registered recyclers and authorized collection agents throughout the country and use their network to collect, transport and recycle disposed off products," said Rawat.
Highlighting consumers' responsibility towards discarded e-products, ASSOCHAM said that authorities concerned must understand that discarding a product does not imply the "end of life", as there is a thriving secondary market over which product manufacturers have no control. Thus, producers are not the only ones responsible for their products once the consumer discards them, it said.
"The CPCB guidelines being silent on the responsibilities of consumers in ensuring the speedy success of e-waste rules is a gross omission, and the government must impose some obligation on the part of consumers as they have control over a product that has to be safely disposed of," said Rawat.
ASSOCHAM, further, requested the government to collaborate with the industry through its chambers, for creating social consciousness amid consumers to take care of the environment, thereby ensuring the safe management of e-waste.
"Industry and government promoting such a campaign together would certainly add legitimacy to the industry's commitment towards awakening the consumers," said Rawat.
The chamber further argued that rules and regulations vis-à-vis e-waste are at a nascent stage of their implementation, and that they must be given time to mature before implementing the targets, as even in developed countries, where e-waste rules evolved over several years until e-waste reached a maturity level amid consumers.
ASSOCHAM also suggested that the government define products manufactured 3 years prior to 1 May 2012 as "historical waste".
Releasing its green-initiatives advisory, ASSOCHAM appealed to industry leaders to improve environmental sustainability by extracting full functional value from their e-assets by getting them recycled instead of discarding them well ahead of their useful life in favour of more sophisticated electronic devices. (INN)