Delhi cabinet approved india’s first e waste eco park
What is the news :
- In a bid to boost tourism, the Delhi government has decided to build India’s first ever e-waste eco-park.
- The announcement was made by Delhi’s Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia.
- Delhi will be home to the “country’s first” e-waste eco-park which will take care of rising e-waste.
- As the use of electronic gazettes is increasing, e-waste is also increasing. Its management system is not there yet. Delhi government will set up the country’s first e-waste eco-park, where recycling, re-manufacturing work will be done.”
- Park will be constructed on 20 acres of land to take care of Delhi’s 2 lakh tonnes of e-waste which is produced annually.
What is e waste :
- Electronic wasteor e-waste describes discarded electrical or electronic devices.
- Used electronics which are destined for refurbishment, reuse, resale, salvage recycling through material recovery, or disposal are also considered e-waste.
- Informal processing of e-waste in developing countries can lead to adverse human health effects and environmental pollution.
- Electronic scrap components, such as CPUs, contain potentially harmful materials such as lead, cadmium, beryllium, or brominated flame retardants.
- Recycling and disposal of e-waste may involve significant risk to health of workers and their communities.
Negative impact of e waste:
- Computers and most electronics contain toxic materials such as lead, zinc, nickel, flame retardants, barium, and chromium. Specifically with lead, if released into the environment can cause damage to human blood, kidneys, as well as central and peripheral nervous systems.
- When e-waste is warmed up, toxic chemicals are released into the air damaging the atmosphere.The damage to the atmosphere is one of the biggest environmental impacts from e-waste.
- When electronic waste is thrown away in landfills their toxic materials seep into groundwater, affecting both land and sea animals. This can also affect the health of the people in the developing countries where most of the electronic waste in dumped.
- Only 10 percent of cell phones are recycled in the world and people get new cell phones every 12 to 18 months. This is creating more and more electronic waste and with the lack of responsible recycling, the environmental issues of e-waste are continually increasing.
- In Guiyu, China, many of the residents exhibit substantial digestives, neurological, respiratory and bone problems. This is the largest e-waste disposal site in China and quite possible the world, Guiyu receives shipments of toxic e-waste from all over the world.
E-Waste Problem in India
- India ranks 177 amongst 180 countries and is amongst the bottom five countries on the Environmental Performance Index 2018, as per a report released at the World Economic Forum 2018.
- This was linked to poor performance in the environment health policy and deaths due to air pollution categories.
- Also, India is ranked fifth in the world amongst top e-waste producing countries after the USA, China, Japan, and Germany and recycles less than 2 per cent of the total e-waste it produces annually formally. Since 2018, India generates more than two million tonnes of e-waste annually, and also imports huge amounts of e-waste from other countries around the world. Dumping in open dumpsites is a common sight which gives rise to issues such as groundwater contamination, poor health, and more.
- The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) and KPMG study, Electronic Waste Management in India identified that computer equipment account for almost 70 per cent of e-waste, followed by telecommunication equipment phones (12 per cent), electrical equipment (8 per cent), and medical equipment (7 per cent) with remaining from household e-waste.
- E-waste collection, transportation, processing, and recycling is dominated by the informal sector. The sector is well networked and unregulated. Often, all the materials and value that could be potentially recovered is not recovered. In addition, there are serious issues regarding leakages of toxins into the environment and workers’ safety and health.
- Seelampur in Delhi is the largest e-waste dismantling centre of India. Adults as well as children spend 8–10 hours daily extracting reusable components and precious metals like copper, gold and various functional parts from the devices.
- E-waste recyclers use processes such as open incineration and acid-leeching. This situation could be improved by creating awareness and improving the infrastructure of recycling units along with the prevalent policies. The majority of the e-waste collected in India is managed by an unorganized sector.
- Also, informal channels of recycling/reuse of electronics such as repair shops, used product dealers, e-commerce portal vendors collect a significant proportion of the discarded electronics for reuse and cannibalization of parts and components.
Opportunities of E-Waste Management in India
- The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change rolled out the E-Waste (Management) Rules in 2016 to reduce e-waste production and increase recycling.
- Under these rules, the government introduced EPR which makes producers liable to collect 30 per cent to 70 per cent (over seven years) of the e-waste they produce, said the study.
- The integration of the informal sector into a transparent recycling system is crucial for a better control on environmental and human health impacts. There have been some attempts towards integrating the existing informal sector in the emerging scenario.
- Organizations such as GIZ have developed alternative business models in guiding the informal sector association towards authorization.
- These business models promote a city-wide collection system feeding the manual dismantling facility and a strategy towards best available technology facilities to yield higher revenue from printed circuit boards.
- By replacing the traditional wet chemical leaching process for the recovery of gold with the export to integrated smelters and refineries, safer practices and a higher revenue per unit of e-waste collected are generated.
- E-waste is a rich source of metals such as gold, silver, and copper, which can be recovered and brought back into the production cycle. There is significant economic potential in the efficient recovery of valuable materials in e-waste and can provide income-generating opportunities for both individuals and enterprises.
- The E-Waste Management Rules, 2016 were amended by the government in March 2018 to facilitate and effectively implement the environmentally sound management of e-waste in India. The amended Rules revise the collection targets under the provision of EPR with effect from October 1, 2017. By way of revised targets and monitoring under the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), effective and improved management of e-waste would be ensured.
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