Why should I segregate e-waste and dispose it of responsibly?

Below are excerpts on e-waste segregation as published in Adyar Times, Aug.29 - Sep.5 Edition

What is e-waste?

All discarded electrical and electronic devices constitute e-waste.

What are some of the most dangerous items in e-waste?

Batteries are the most dangerous e-waste item. Unsegregated waste is generally dumped at landfills. In such a case, when batteries too are dumped there, it can prove hazardous. Handling batteries that are leaking can be dangerous to the handlers of waste at the landfill, which may include children as well. 

Larger batteries like the ones used in inverters also have acids in them, so it is very essential that such objects be discarded, handled and recycled with care.

Why should we give our e-waste to a licensed aggregator? 

More than 95% of the e-waste is currently collected by rag pickers and other unorganised sectors, which neither have the know-how to segregate and dispose hazardous objects, nor are authorised to do it. There is no documentation or checks on how they handle e-waste. This apart, many such places employ children. Neither are any safety precautions observed nor are the people working there provided with anything for their safety while handling e-waste. The people working in these sectors are highly likely to develop health issues. From an economic perspective, this creates a medical burden on the government. We can therefore clearly see a cause and effect relationship of improper recycling of e-waste on the economy, environment apart. It is hence very important to be aware of the consequences of improper disposal of e-waste; segregate e-waste and hand it over to a licensed aggregator.

World Scrap is a licensed aggregator with an ISO certification. When any e-waste comes to us, we have a process to properly recycle it.

Can you walk-through us on what happens to the e-waste that’s collected through the drives?

World Scrap has a factory at Tirupati. The process that we follow is: (i) segregation, (ii) dismantling, (iii) processing. We collect the e-waste items as a whole, i.e., a computer CPU as a whole; these items are brought to our factory and all segregation and dismantling is done at the factory only. It is essential to do the segregation and dismantling at the factory because (a) all the people working in the factory work with safety precautions (wearing gloves and appropriate uniforms and using proper equipments / machines); (b) when e-waste is given, we are unsure of their condition - there might be an internal leak of chemicals that can be hazardous to handle with bare hands.

Once they are brought to the factory, the e-waste is segregated based on their components - eg., monitors will be separated from cables / wires etc. Post this, the things are dismantled and broken into smaller objects. These small objects are then processed through machines to get different metals - like aluminium, copper and silver. The metals extracted are then sold to industries.

Rarely we get some metals / objects  (mostly in plastics) that cannot be processed. Such objects are sent to the treatment, storage and disposal facility (TSDF) located at Mumbai.  

What are the major misconceptions about e-waste processing?

A big misconception is that people think that we get a lot of gold while processing e-waste. While it is true that we do get gold, it is very miniscule in quantity - millimeters in length, and not in bars, as normally perceived. We do get other metals as well in such miniscule qualities.

Have e-waste drives proven useful for collecting e-waste?

Yes, absolutely, because it creates a lot of awareness among the people about the need for responsible disposal of e-waste while also providing an outlet for the same. 

One drawback however is that people at many places expect money in exchange. While their question might be justified because, after all, all the items cost money; however even if you give these items to a nearby waste paper mart, you might get very little in exchange. Additionally, those markets are tied up with the unorganised sector, which as already stated, has no know-how to handle / segregate e-waste. So the question really is - are you ready to forego the environment for that paltry sum of money or can you dispose of e-waste with a licensed aggregator, without any expectation of money?

But you do make money when you sell the segregated products…

Yes, we do. The purpose of any industry is to make profit. But many do not see the enormous transportation costs incurred by us. Our factories are set up at places where they do not pose a hazard to the environment. Thus the humongous cost of transportation offsets the profits that we make. Overall, the profits are not large.

How has the awareness trend been among the people on e-waste segregation and responsible disposal?

Though we don’t see a drastic change, we do see an increasing trend in it. Awareness about it, though, needs to be created and taught from childhood - in schools, so that it gets engrained in children.

We are however a long way to go in this aspect because the ratio of the e-waste produced, to the amount recycled, is heavily skewed. We are recycling only a Lilliputian fraction of what is generated / produced.

How do you compare the e-waste segregation in India vs abroad?

Countries abroad (developed countries), are definitely far better in implementation of source segregation, thus leading to efficient segregation of e-waste as well. Punitive measures are taken at most places, forcing the public to segregate properly. The segregated waste is also given to proper recyclers.

We need to give a good future and environment to our children. We already hear of polluted air, water and land. There is an immediate need to save these natural resources for our children and we need to start NOW!

What is treatment, storage and disposal facility (TSDF)

According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Ministry of Forest and Environment, Government of India, TSDF are facilities that receive hazardous wastes for its treatment, storage, or disposal. 

Treatment facilities use various processes (such as incineration or oxidation) to alter the character or composition of hazardous wastes. Some treatment processes enable waste to be recovered and reused in manufacturing settings, while other treatment processes dramatically reduce the amount of hazardous waste.

Storage facilities temporarily hold hazardous wastes until they are treated or disposed of.

Disposal facilities permanently contain hazardous wastes. The most common type of disposal facility is a landfill, where hazardous wastes are disposed of in carefully constructed units designed to protect groundwater and surface-water resources.

The treatment, storage, and disposal facility (TSDF) follows the generator and transporter in the chain of waste management activities. The regulations pertaining to TSDFs are more stringent than those which apply to generators or transporters. These include general facility standards as well as unit-specific design and operating criteria. The general facility standards consist of good housekeeping provisions for any facility that handles hazardous waste. The unit-specific technical requirements are designed to prevent the release of hazardous waste into the environment.

TSDFs include facilities that are engaged in any of the following activities:

• Stored hazardous waste for greater than the allowed time frames for generators of hazardous waste; or 

• Received hazardous waste from off-site; or

• Treated hazardous waste; or

• Disposed of hazardous waste (e.g., in a landfill, surface impoundment, or incinerator).