Published in Dwarka Express on 11.11.23

If you think of the age of your electronic gadgets like smart phone of laptop, TV or digital clock, at the maximum age you could remember may perhaps be 2 to 3 years. The model becomes obsolete and you feel like throwing it and get a new one to stay tuned to the modern lifestyle. Consumerism has taken a heavy toll indeed. But the other reason for the heaping up of e-waste is that the life of all these electronic gadgets is also very less. The changing paradigm of volatility vis-à-vis consumption pattern poses a biggest challenge to yet another conspicuous environmental issue known as electronic waste or simply e-waste. The present economy is working on a linear pattern known as ‘TAKE-MAKE-DISPOSE’. This is clear with the India’s e-waste growth rate that has surpassed 30% Compound Average Growth rate (CAGR) according to one study. In 2020-21, India generated about 16.01 lacs tonnes of e-waste out of which hardly 33% was collected and processed last year. The rest ended up in landfills or incineration plants instead. While India has sufficient processing and recycling units to handle the entire lot of e-waste, it is simply weird that the e-waste is mounting up.

As per E-Waste (Management) Second Amendment Rules 2023, a new set of guidelines and obligations for producers of Electrical and Electronic Equipment (EEE) and their components come into force in India. The producers have to ensure that their products do not contain hazardous substances like lead, mercury, and other restricted materials beyond the maximum prescribed concentration limits. This is to prevent the harmful environmental and health impacts that can arise from the improper disposal and recycling of e-waste. Further the rules focus on the recognition and registration of producers who bring electronic products into the market. The rules also highlight the importance of skill development for workers involved in the dismantling and recycling of e-waste. This is a positive step towards effective e-waste management.

Secondly from the present linear model, we need to shift quickly to the Circular Economy (CE) which is a deliberate intervention that aims to be restorative and regenerative. It replaces the concept of end-of-life with restoration and regeneration, embraces the use of renewable energy, eliminates the use of harmful chemicals that hinder reuse and return to the environment, and strives to eliminate waste through innovative material design, product development, system implementation, and business model creation. Electronic recycling needs efficient handling of the toxic heavy metals and other hazardous chemicals, which requires technical competency. Improper handling of e-waste will affect the health of the recycling workers and children.