From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network - Bangalore
Bangalore, Jun 5: India generates over 4.4 lakh tonnes of electronic waste (e-waste) annually but hardly 5 per cent gets recycled due to lack of proper infrastructure, legislative measures and necessary protocols.
The leading industry body, ASSOCHAM has in a detailed analysis on the World Environment Day pointed out that the country’s e-waste generation was growing at a compounded annual growth rate of about 20 per cent and almost half of all unused and end-of-life electronic products lie idle in landfills, junkyards and warehouses.
Computer equipment accounts for almost 68 per cent of e-waste material followed by telecommunication equipment (12), electrical equipment (8) and medical equipment (7) while other equipment, including household e-crap accounts for the remaining 5 per cent, the Assocham said in is analysis.
It pointed out over 90 per cent of e-waste generated in India is managed by the unorganised sector and scrap dealers in this market dismantle the disposed products instead of recycling it.
Assocham General Secretary D S Rawat said, who released the findings of the analysis, mentioned that most of these products can be recycled, refurbished and redeployed going down the value chain and reused by a bit of reconstruction process, reducing overall impact on the environment.
Though the organised sector accounts for less than 10 per cent of the recycling business, there is huge scope for growth as the recyclers and suppliers are engaging with IT giants and other enterprises to dispose e—devices efficiently, he said.
Assocham suggested that used computers and discarded consumer durables be collected and donated to schools and orphanages run by non-profit organisations and other agencies involved in social cause through refurbishment.
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 versus environmental impact of e-waste, the analysis suggested.
Assocham has requested the government to collaborate with industry through the chambers to create social consciousness amid consumers to take care of the environment, thereby ensuring 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,” Rawat said.
Releasing Assocham’s green-initiatives advisory, he urged 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.