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8/7/2019 Ban Galore Study of Ere Cycling
1/22
Understanding E-Waste Generation, Collection & Recycling
In Bangalore
1
UNDERSTANDING
E-WASTE
GENERATION,
COLLECTION &
RECYCLING IN
BANGALORE
A Saahas study in association with HAWA and GTZ
Bangalore, 2005
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Summary
WEEE (Waste from Electronic and Electrical Equipment) comprises a
range of products and components where recycling and final disposal isknown to adversely affect public health and the environment.
However within this spectrum, the adverse impacts related to computer
waste, including peripherals is expected to escalate rapidly in the next fewyears. Thus this waste stream has been selected as a starting point toaddress issues related to e-Waste recycling and disposal.
Currently the Software Technology Park of India has registered 1,322
software companies in Karnataka as Export Oriented Units (EOU). Inaddition as per reports from MAIT, (Manufacturers Association for
Information Technology) there are 36 hardware manufacturing units.Collectively these companies employ a workforce of around 1, 00,000
professionals.
In addition there is a thriving BPO (Business Processes Outsourcing)segment which employs an additional 60,000 professionals.
These three segments are responsible for the largest contribution of e-waste
in the city.
In a preliminary study entitled e-Waste, Bangalore wakes up to a newthreatwe explained how under the EXIM (Export Import) Policy 2000 of
the Government of India, all companies registered as Export Oriented Unitsare exempted from a basic customs duty which would be around 15-20%
depending on the goods imported. In Bangalore most of the software andhardware units avail this concession. Under this regulation however unless
the duty is paid the computers remain under a customs bond which impliesthat they cannot be sold.
The two options to release this equipment from the bond include donation
to charitable institutions or physical destruction of the goods
Companies insist that they donate their equipment to schools and charitableinstitutions. However given the large volume of equipment involved it is
difficult to comprehend how suitable institutions could be identified.Moreover this equipment also has a limited life and therefore ultimately
ends up in the e-waste stream.
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Besides it is now confirmed that companies also use the option to
physically destroy obsolete equipment.
During 2003-2004, IT equipment valued at Rs 15.6 crores were physicallydestroyed in this manner. In all around 21 leading IT companies chose this
option for disposal of their e-waste. After destruction, this waste which lastyear is estimated to yield around 120 tonnes is sold to scrap dealers.
Based on these figures we now estimate that the total annual e-scrap
generated by IT companies in Bangalore/Karnataka is around 6,790 tonnes.Each company contributes around 5 tonnes of e-scrap every year which is
the equivalent of 150-200 computers.
The other sources of e-waste are rejects from the manufacturing sector.Apart from the 36 registered units there are a host of other small time
manufactures involved in the manufacture of a variety of IT equipment. Sofar not much is known about the scrap generated on account of their
activities.
A limited amount of waste would also be generated from the householdsector. Currently it is estimated that 35 % of upper middle class households
across Bangalore possess a computer.
However this sector is known to retain its computers for several years.Thus this sector produces only a very small percentage of computers
related scrap.
The flow of scrap is now well established. Our previous report entitled e-Waste, Bangalore wakes up to a new threat, gives a brief overview of the
flow of this waste with the role of the different actors involved.
Many large organisations have direct links with the scrap dealers andrecyclers and sale of computer scrap is done directly.
Some other companies especially the public sector and the customs
department (unclaimed goods including electronic goods) use the auction
as a medium of sale. Custom bonded computers which have beenphysically destroyed also enter the scrap market through this route
These auctions are not conducted by the company itself; instead the job isoutsourced to specialized organizations.
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There are two large auctioneers in Bangalore which deal with waste
generated from this sector they are Matexnet and Metal Scrap TradingCorporation of India (MSTC).
Large companies conduct these auctions around 4-5 times every year. Most
often the scrap is a mix of different products. Sources from some of thesecompanies as well as the scrap dealers attending these auctions reveal that
total annual sale of e-scrap comprising PCB boards, wires, and electricalequipment from a single large company amounts to around Rs 1 crore.
Recycling in Bangalore involves meticulous segregation of the waste into
different categories. Larger components are then broken and furthersegregated.
Materials retrieved include plastic, wires, Cathode Ray Tubes (CRT), and
Printer Circuit Boards (PCB).
In Bangalore the main recycling activities include extraction of preciousmetal from gold and silver coated connectors in the PCB and the keyboard,
the recovery and recycling of plastic and the retrieval of copper fromvarious components including PVC wires.
Regunning of CRT tubes is also taking place in the city as also burning of
PCB Boards for recovery of copper but both these activities are carried outto a very limited extent. In Bangalore there is only one unit involved in the
burning of PCB boards.
In contrast our study shows that there are as many as 20 units involved inthe extraction of gold and silver from PCBs.
Depending on the concentration of gold in the raw material there are two
methods used for extraction, first method is by using mercury and thesecond method is by using cyanide.
We estimate that 80 kgs of gold is retrieved from e-scrap every year. The
annual turnover from the gold extraction alone in Bangalore will be around
Rs 4.8 crores.
Most of this gold is retrieved from the PCBs of computers where each
computer is said to have 0.3 gms of gold.
Based on these values it is also possible to estimate that this gold wasretrieved from around 8,000 tonnes of computer scrap.
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Gold extraction is undoubtedly a lucrative business. However, serious
questions need to be raised about the impact on health and environment onaccount of the processes used for extraction of metal.
There is extensive use of nitric acid, cyanide and mercury. After use these
chemicals are casually disposed in open drains or the ground adjoining theunits. The long term effect is bound to have severe repercussions on the
health of the population living in the surroundings as well as the peopleworking in the units.
Discussions with the proprietors and workers in the unit show that there is
an underlying awareness about the health and environment implications.However these concerns are ignored.
Nevertheless over the last two years, a greater awareness within the larger
public domain has set in. The IT industry and other industrial sectors arenow under greater pressure to exercise caution in disposing e-waste.
In the absence of an authorized recycler, The KSPCB has already directed
companies to only store their waste and not dispose the same to the scraptrade.
Companies on their part however maintain that it is difficult to comply with
such a directive as the quantities of waste generated are considerable andspace constraints do not allow them to store waste.
In September 2004, the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board had
addressed a letter to individual IT companies requesting them to givedetails of the quantity of waste generated and the manner of disposal.
This exercise explained KSPCB would help document the quantity of
computer waste generated by these companies and understand the disposalmethods used. The response of the IT companies however has been very
poor and only about 5 companies have acknowledged the receipt of such aletter.
Meanwhile, the WEEE Care initiative which was started in August 2004has been working to motivate the single largest producer of e-waste namelythe IT industry to also participate in the programme.
WEEE Care together with representatives from the industry has drawn up
a wish list which will require all generators of e-waste to comply withcertain regulations at the time of disposal of their e-waste.
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Thus we now have a base where the IT industry will work together with
both formal and informal sectors of e-Waste recycling to ensure properdisposal of waste.
A model is being finalised where the key stake holders comprising
generators, recyclers, NGOs and the government agencies will regulate thisflow of waste and monitor the final disposal.
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1. INTRODUCTION: E-waste and computer scrap
The world over, e-Waste has now become closely associated with computerand other IT related electronic equipment.
Bangalore continues to be the IT capital of the country. Thus in looking at
the problems associated with e-waste in the city, the recycling and disposalof this waste naturally takes precedence over the other e-waste streams
such as refrigerators and televisions
IT scrap would include all hardware and accessories including networkingequipment, monitors, Central Processing Units, (CPU), Printed Circuit
Boards (PCB), wires, printers, keyboards and mouse,
In Delhi computer scrap accounts for around 25% of total e-Waste in thecity (Pilot assessment for Delhi- IRG).
Our survey of e-Waste hotspots in Bangalore concentrated on units where
computer scrap accounted for around 45-50% of the total e-scrap.
Further, in Delhi only 60% of waste is generated from domestic sourcesand the balance accounted for by imports and waste from other Indian
towns and cities
In Bangalore more than 75% of waste is generated from within the city.Imports through Chennai takes place in relatively small quantities.
There are around 50 units involved with the retrieval and recycling of IT
related scrap in the city.
All these units are actively involved with primary segregation and someform of dismantling. This results in the recovery of broad categories of
material including plastic, copper, steel, iron, CRTs and PCBsThe city has a host of units involved in the further recycling of plastic and
metal. Some of this is also sold to scrap dealers in other cities.
One of the key attractions for scrap dealers is the retrieval of gold/silvercoated connectors which form part of a PCB and are also found in very
small quantities in the keyboard.The quantity of gold is very small just about 0.3-0.5 gms per computer. Yet
the extraction of gold from the PCBs and keyboard is a significant part ofrecycling of e-waste in Bangalore. It is about the most lucrative as well as
the most environmentally damaging.
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2. BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE OF THE MISSION
In 2004, Saahas conducted a baseline study e-Waste, Bangalore wakes upto a new threat. The study showed the existence of a thriving trade in e-
waste scrap in the city which was regularly fed by the public and privatesector
The baseline study however gave only limited information about the
various activities.
2.1 Objectives of current study
To get a comprehensive picture about the recycling activities carriedout with respect to computer scrap
To understand the processes used for extraction of precious metals andthe economic involved
To identify and survey all the recycling cluster centers in Bangalore
To initiate dialogue with the scrap dealers and recyclers so as to bringthem into some form of organisation
To make a database of select large recyclers and dealers who could beinvited to participate in the WEEE Care Initiative
To get an insight into the expectations of the scrap dealers from theother stakeholders (IT industry, government agencies, etc)
2.2 Methodology adoptedE-Waste: Bangalore wakes up to a new threat. Indicated that there were 5
areas in Bangalore where some form of electronic waste recycling wasbeing carried out.
These 5 areas were further explored in the current study to determine the
exact nature of the activities. These included:
Mysore Road incl. Gowri Palya (Central)
Rajaji Nagar (West)
Thammaiah Road, Tannery Road (East)
Whitefield and Madhavpura (South).
In addition to working with the recycling and scrap dealers, we continued
to meet various stakeholders and generators to look at the quantities of e-waste generated by them and their disposal systems. Specifically we will
look at the large Public Sector units and Multinational Corporations Sincethe first study indicated that computer scrap was the most significant within
the e-waste spectrum; the current study has focused on this waste stream.
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The current study is more in the nature of an exploration into the generation
and recycling activities taking place in Bangalore city.
On the generation front, we targeted the auctions in Bangalore throughwhich all the large companies sold waste.
E-waste however is a subject that has acquired great sensitivity. Both
generators and the scrap trade are apprehensive about giving informationabout the methods used in disposal.
Under these conditions a broad questionnaire was formulated (Annex) to
probe into the disposal and recycling methods used.
Each of the five areas was then surveyed to identify the recycling units anddetermine the nature of their activities. The survey however was conducted
very informally.
Discussions were held with the owner of the units and some workers.General observations also helped to answer some of the questions.
Each of the areas had to be visited frequently. This helped to gain the
confidence of the owners and workers.
At all times we showed great appreciation for the recycling activitiescarried out. We informed the scrap dealers that we were conducting a study
to understand the recycling systems in Bangalore. We explained how onaccount of their activities important materials are recovered and reused
rather than be dumped and lost. Further we explained that we would beconducting awareness programmes, educational institutions as also
corporate offices to educate the general public about the need to ensure thatall their e-waste gets recycled.
We also gave them details about how in other western countries- this waste
was being dumped after which retrieval of materials was very difficult. Inthis context the Indian recycling systems which was so labour intensive
was now being appreciated all over the world.
We also informed them that corporate offices were now willing to help therecyclers get access to better technology which would help eliminate the
pollution caused on account of recycling without interfering in the labourforce involved.
This approach helped us slowly gain confidence of the scrap dealers.
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3 SCOPE OF TASK
Outcome
A comprehensive picture of the situation with respect to e-Waste
recycling and disposal in Bangalore will emerge
More specifically we will have information on the recycling
capacities and methods adopted for computer componentsespecially PCBs
A database of scrap dealers and recyclers who would be willing toupgrade recycling technologies so as to make them environment
friendly
The other activities related to the study will facilitate a dialogue
between all stakeholders including the generators, dealers andgovernment institutions
4 ACTIVITIES AND RESULTS ACHIEVED
The activities conducted and subsequent information obtained can be putinto three broad categories
4.1 Tracking generation of computer scrap
4.2 Distribution and flow of computer scrap
4.3 Recycling and final disposal
4.1 Tracking generation of computer scrap
The IT industry is the single largest generator of computer scrap in the city.
Reports from the Software Technology Park of India (STPI) indicate that in2004, there were 1,322 software companies registered in Bangalore.
In addition there are 36 hardware manufacturing units. These units also
contribute significantly to e-waste which reaches the scrap market in theform of manufacturing rejects.
Together these 1358 companies represent the formal face of the IT industry
in Bangalore and Karnataka. However it must be said that there are someunits which are not registered and for which there is not much information
available
The major sources for generation of e-waste in Bangalore includes
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debonding of custom bonded equipment
rejects from manufacturing processes
Unclaimed goods.
4.1 A: Debonding of custom bonded equipment
Under the EXIM (Export Import) Policy 2000 of the Government of India,
all companies registered as EOUs are allowed the duty free import ofhardware and accessories. Under this regulation however unless the duty is
paid, imported equipment remains under a customs bond which implies thatthey cannot be sold.
Equipment which becomes old and obsolete has either to be donated to
charitable institutions or physically destroyed (please see E-Waste,Bangalore Wakes up to a New Threat)
In 2003-2004 reports from the STPI showed that 21 companies opted to go
in for destruction of their computer hardware and peripherals in order todebond. These items were collectively valued at 15.6 crores (value at the
time of entering custom bond).
Industry sources indicate that in 2004 the average cost of an importedcomputer would be around Rs 40,000.
Thus a total value of Rs 15.6 crores would account for around 3,900
computers/ accessories
At an average weight of around 31 kgs per computer the waste generatedwould be around 120 tonnes with each company generating on an average
5 tonnes of e-waste per annum.
Collectively the industry comprising 1,358 companies would generate
around 6,790 tonnes of obsolete equipment annually.
In 2003-2004, 21 companies opted for physical destruction of goods. Afterdestruction this waste is generally sold to scrap dealers and thereby it enters
the recycling chain.
What happens then to the rest of the 1337 companies in the IT industry?
No doubt these companies would also be generating an equal volume ofobsolete equipment. Currently there is little information about what
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happens to this material except to assume that it was donated to some
charitable institutions.
Thus the life of this equipment would be extended for a while althoughultimately this equipment would also enter the scrap market.
Destruction of custom bonded imported computer hardware and
accessories
Year Value at the time of bonding
2002-2003 Rs 10.61 crores *
*USD converted @
1 USD = Rs 402003-2004 Rs 15.6 crores *
*USD converted @1 USD = Rs 40
2004-2005(April 04 Feb 05)
Rs 11.32 crores*
*USD converted @ Rs 1USD =Rs 43
4.1B Rejects from manufacturing processes
Manufacturing of electronic equipment generates considerable electronicwaste. In Bangalore there are 36 large hardware manufacturers registered
with the STPI.
According to MAIT there are many more unregistered manufacturing unitsall engaged in the production of electronic equipment?
In the course of our study we also tracked the PCB industry in Bangalore.
These manufacturing units are not part of the STPI but they haveconsiderably large manufacturing facilities which ultimately also contribute
significantly to the waste generated.
For example there are in all 15-20 companies involved in the manufactureof Printed Circuit Boards in the city.
Collectively these companies manufacture around 8,000-9,000 sq meters of
board per annum.
Rejects from this sector of the industry is also considerable.
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Rejects from a leading public sector companies involved in themanufacture of PCB among other electrical and electronic equipment
amounts to around 6 tonnes per annum.
4.1D Unclaimed goods
Reports from scrap dealers indicate that there is a small quantity of new ITequipment which enters the scrap trade as unclaimed baggage.
The volume of this material though is small and relatively insignificant.
4.2 Distribution and flow of e-waste
In our last report e-Waste, Bangalore faces a new threatwe had traced theflow of e-Waste through the different channels.
Further we now know that the auction plays in a crucial role as the means
by which scrap dealers acquire waste.
4.2 A Sale through Auctions: This is a primary platform whereby scrap
dealers acquire computer scrap.
Companies on their part utilize this medium to sell all possible scrap and itis seen that computers and peripherals form part of the items which are
auctioned.
On an average each company would hold an auction 3-4 times a year.
Conducting an auction has now become a professional exercise and mostlarge companies would hand over the task to specialized organisations.
In a typical auction the scrap is piled together into different categories
termed as lots. Depending on the requirement of the scrap dealer, he places
a bid for the lots he is interested in by paying an EMD-Earnest moneydeposit- (It ranges between -10-20 percent of his bid value)
The scrap dealers attending these auctions are either middlemen whopurchase scrap for secondary sale to recyclers or large scrap houses or
relatively smaller recyclers who need the scrap for their own units.
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This scrap is then sorted and segregated. Reusable components sold to the
second hand market. A part of this waste is also sold to middlemen whohave contacts with scrap dealers in Mumbai and Delhi. The rest of the
waste is then further reprocessed in Bangalore.
This would include items such as CPUs, monitors, wires, keyboards, mouseand other components.
The material retrieved from these components includes iron, steel, copper,
plastic, copper and precious metal like gold and silver.
It is estimated that there are around 100 medium to large scrap dealersinvolved in the trade in Bangalore. 50% of these scrap dealers
simultaneously run small recycling outfits.
Some of the large scrap dealers also function as buying houses. We locatedtwo such units on SP Road. Their clients include those dealers involved in
repair and second sale of products as also those coming from outside thecity including Delhi and Mumbai. These buying houses regularly made lists
of products that they required. This in turn is circulated to various scrapdealers who acquire these products through auctions or through direct
purchase from companies and sell it to these buying houses.
4.3 Dismantling and Recycling of computer scrap mapping
Bangalore
It is now confirmed that Gowri Palya (including Bytranpura, JJ Nagar and
Mysore Road) and Thimmaiah Road are the two hot spots for e-wasterecycling in the city. Together these two areas would account for 95% of
computer scrap recycling in the city. In addition there are small unitslocated in tannery road, R.T Nagar and Whitefield. These units however
deal with electrical waste.
Recycling processes carried out here include:A. Segregation of waste and dismantling
B. Extraction of precious metal
C. Burning of PCBs
4.3A Segregation of waste and dismantling: This is the basic activity
conducted by all scrap dealers and recyclers.
When dealers purchase scrap either directly or through auctions the scrapthat they acquire is mixed. Thus there will be monitors, keyboards, wires,
PCBs and other electrical items all mixed together.
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Even if the various different components are kept together in one lot (thishappens in auctions) the scrap has to be further sorted depending on the
content of each scrap item. Thus for example a heap of Printed CircuitBoards will have to be sorted depending on the content of precious metal in
each of them.
Segregation is a labour intensive activity which requires immense patience.There is also certain skill which is required as the persons involved must
have knowledge of the material content of each scrap item. This isespecially true for the PCB Boards which are of different kinds.
In addition persons involved must be able to identify those components
which are in working condition. Thus in the case of the PCB or a computermonitor PCBS or the CRT tubes which can be reused are kept separately.
These are then sold later to second hand dealers who are involved withrepair of old equipment. Some of this equipment is also sold in the Sunday
Bazar.
Segregation in itself can be classified as a positive activity. The negativeaspects includes-
a. Use of child labour and the infrastructure of units.b. Most of the units have no proper ventilation and
c. Workers sit on the floor bending for hours over scrap items andworking with their bare hands.
Our survey showed that 4-5 units used child labour for this activity. In 2units we found that the children were family members.
After the sorting processes, dismantling of scrap is carried out. Each scrap
item is taken apart and the raw material retrieved for recycling or reuse.
Common items which are retrieved after dismantling include copper, iron,steel and plastic. In the case of a computer monitor, the CRT tube is
retrieved. This later is used for making low cost televisions.
Each of these raw materials is then channeled to different waste streams.
Thus all metal goes to metal scrap dealers, plastic to plastic recyclers, andCRT tubes to TV manufacturers or to Delhi based recyclers who areinvolved in CRT tube regunning.
It is very difficult to estimate the quantities of waste retrieved from the
scrap.On an average each unit acquires around 1-2 tonnes of mixed scrap every
month.
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Looking specifically at the PCBs in the scrap units in Bangalore - materialretrieved includes connector pins containing precious metal like gold and
silver. These pins are plucked from the connector and sold to units involvedin extraction.
After extraction the pins are then used for recovery of steel and other metal.
The PCB boards minus connectors have some amount of steel and copper.
Segregation and dismantling: a closer look
Activity Positive Negative
Segregation Materials can be used again
facilitates recycling
Child Labour.
Improper maintenance.
Dismantling Retrieving process is easier. Child Labour.Improper maintenance.
Crude method
Recycling Material can be reused. Environmentalpollution.
Child Labour.Improper maintenance.
Lack of protectiveequipment.
Disposal Only non-recyclable material isdisposed
Materials recovered
Part Recovered Recovery process
Monitor CRT ,Circuit board and
plastic casing
Manual work using screwdriver
CPU Motherboard, Processor,
RAM,Graphiccard, Audiocard
Floppydrive,
CD drive, BUZZ and othersmall parts
Manual work using hammer, plier
and screw driver.Burning to retrieve copper.
Gold is recovered using acid.
Keyboard Plastic casing and Key
connectors
Gold is recovered using acid
bath.
4.3B Extraction of precious metalsPrecious metal including gold and silver can be extracted from connector
pins which are components embedded in the PCBs.
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4.3C Precious metal extraction: profile of unitsCurrently Bangalore has around 50 units involved in purchase of electronic
waste, segregation, dismantling and recovery of components. Of theseabout 20 units are also involved in the recovery of precious metal. Most of
these units have been engaged in some form of recycling activity includingrecovery of precious metal for the last 10-15 years.
Each unit has a worker strength ranging from 10-25. The units are run as a
family business where the extended family is involved. The familymembers thus make up about 95% of the workforce and only 2-3 members
are employed additionally.
Most of these units are located in densely populated residential areas. Infact some of the units are simply an extension of a family home.
All these units have similar capacities with respect to recovery of precious
metal and therefore operate under similar conditions. The extractionprocess is carried out in tiny rooms with an area of around 10 meters. There
is no ventilation in the form of windows and most often all work isconducted behind closed doors.
There was only one unit identified where extraction was carried out in an
open shed. The heating process here was done in the open area outside theshed.
Infrastructure is limited to a bare minimum and consists of a few hammers
and pliers for plucking the connectors from the PCBs, and primus stove anda few steel containers for heating the acids.
Workers prefer to work with their bare hands and do not even wear masks.
As an observer it is difficult to stay in the vicinity of the pungent fumesfrom the nitric acid for more than 5 minutes. Yet the persons working in the
unit appear totally acclimitised and can spend a whole day working in themidst of all the fumes. Moreover, no special precautions are taken even
when handling hazardous substances like mercury and cyanide.
Workers are in the age group between 25-50. About 95% of them are malewith women involved largely with the segregation process. These women
were not family members but employed as additional workforce.
When queried about this seeming indifference to their health the workersadmitted that they were aware that substances like cyanide were poisonous.
However, they claimed that they had not experienced any adverse effects
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on their health so they presumed that their bodies had got used to the
working conditions.
5. DEVIATION FROM SCOPE OF TASK
In the last six months we had extensive meetings with the different scrap
dealers.
However we have yet to bring them together in a joint meeting.
This will be possible only after an action plan has been developed whichwill demonstrate to the scrap dealers the advantages in forming an
association or a cooperative.
Further an intervention programme for the scrap dealers has to bedeveloped after which they can be encouraged to seek authorisation for the
concerned civic agencies.
6. INITIATED STEPS
In the course of working on this report we have interacted with three keystake holders.
i. The informal sector involved in computer scrapii. The IT industry which is the single largest producer of computer
scrapiii. The regulatory agency namely the Karnataka State Pollution
Control Board
Certain steps have been initiated to bring about a better understanding ofthe problem and prepare the ground for introducing some solutions
6.1 Participation of the IT industry in identifying solutions
Until recently the IT industry remained detached from the environment and
health concerns associated with e-waste. They did not see a direct
connection between their business and the issues of e-waste.
Over the last six months slowly the gap is being bridged and the IT
industry has now agreed to come forward and be a part of the WEEE Careinitiative which is identifying solutions to the E-waste problem.
6.2 Film on e-waste
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The work done to understand the problems and find solutions has also been
now documented in a film on e-Waste.
This film will also be useful in reaching out to the other e-waste generatorsand the general public
7. ANALYSIS OF RESULTS
i. There is an urgent need to recognise the threat of e-waste to publichealth and the environment and act accordingly.
ii. The quantities of e-Waste being generated in the city are huge.Currently estimates are available only about the volumes generated.
However, these volumes will only increase in the future.iii. We have the capacities to address the volumes since we have in
place a solid framework for collection, distribution, reuse andrecycling of this waste stream.
iv. However the intervention of the other stake holders is necessary toensure that the existing system is strengthened so that capacities to
address environment and health concerns are also factored inv. E-Waste recycling can be a profitable business enterprise. Therefore
big entrepreneurs are bound to come forward in this sectorvi. In such a situation the informal sector will need support so as to
ensure that they continue to co-exist with the larger, more formalrecycling enterprises
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8. RECOMMENDATIONS
Problem Recommendation
The quantities of e-waste generated are
huge. Difficult to getcredible estimates of
volumes generated
Extensive tracking done of quantities generatedthrough a well established inventory system. All
generators will have to maintain a register of e-waste generated and the disposal route. This
inventory system will help the recycling industryto cope with the capacities generated.
Generators areunwilling to take
responsibility for wastegenerated
Through widespread awareness -Concept ofExtended Producer Responsibility (EPR) can be
strengthened. This will motivate e-wastegenerators to participate along with the other
stake holders to strengthen e-waste recycling anddisposal systems
Recycling processes (eggold extraction) are
polluting and a threat tohuman health
Identify the polluting processes and introducealternatives
Informal sector worksunder a shroud of
secrecy
Give incentives to the informal sector to upgradetheir facilities and support them to come forward
to seek authorisation for their facilities
Authorisation of
facilities is a tediousprocess
All stakeholders could come together to form a
regulatory body which will conduct regularaudits and recommend authorisation. This will
make the process transparent and authorisationwill be simplified
Co-existence of formaland informal sector
Bring the two sectors together into a dialogue sothat optimal recycling processes can be
discussed and demarcations drawn with respectto areas of operation
8/7/2019 Ban Galore Study of Ere Cycling
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8/7/2019 Ban Galore Study of Ere Cycling
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Understanding E-Waste Generation, Collection & Recycling
In Bangalore