Introduction:
E-waste,
the short abbreviation against electronic waste is the method of disposal of
the electronic equipment, the devices which could be of use again, use for a
resale purpose. Whether the material can be recycled or have to dispose of
completely, it all comes under the umbrella term of E-waste. There is a
particular process of disposing of electrical devices. Otherwise, it may
inflict severe damage to the environment which ultimately may affect human
health. Equipments like computers, mobiles, office equipment, refrigerator,
etc. can be recycled in this process.
Need of E-waste
recycling:
As
mentioned earlier, improper disposal of E-waste is a threat to the environment.
Some
of the scrap components of electronic devices consist of harmful components
like lead, beryllium, cadmium and other harmful components if not recycled
properly and in a case of their exposure to the environment can cause harm. This
ultimately can lead to groundwater contamination, increased pollution of air
and soil acidification.
The
process e-waste recylcing itself is hazardous as it needs great caution for the
workers while disposing of the items. Great caution must be exercised during
the process as leakage of materials during the process can be major harmful.
The
position of India in E-waste:
India
ranks 5th in the world among other countries in e-waste production. As a
developing nation, India does have surpassed output and consumption of electronic
devices as compared to a decade ago, which has also been a reason for e-waste
production.
The
leader of the e-waste producer as state wise is Maharashtra, which ranks the
highest, Tamil Nadu is the second producer followed by Uttar Pradesh. City wise
Mumbai tops the charts, followed by New Delhi, as well as Bangalore and
Chennai.
75%
of the e-waste is generated by Government, public and private sector companies
alone, while an individual household contributes around 16%. Hence there is a
strong need of E Waste Recyclers in India.
In
an annual e-waste cycle, 70% of all the e-waste comes from computer equipment
alone, while telecom holds 12%, followed by medical equipment which is of 8%
and 7% accounts for the electronic devices.
EPR
or Extended Producer Responsibility is introduced in India to curb the e-waste
issue. EPR almost collected 30% which has extended up to 70% by the 7th year of
the EPR rule. Still unorganized market holds 95% of the e-waste production in
the country which is the major roadblock for e-waste recyclers.
Out of many E WasteRecyclers in India, Virogreen India Pvt Ltd is a Chennai based company which
aims a reduced accumulation of used and discarded electronic devices. Their
initiative started on 2002 as a Government authorized e-waste recyclers. It
safely recycles and disposes of all types of electrical, media and telecom
equipment with a major capacity of 15000 tons per annum. They Deal with
Electrical recycle, shredding, data erasing and logistics.