Need of e-waste recycling in India

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 Waste Recyclers 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.