Technology Race And E-waste : Challenges And Solutions

1. Ujala Nyola, Eklavya Sharma, Jatin Sharma and R. P. Sharma
B. K. Birla Institute of Engineering and Technology, Pilani ( Rajasthan) India.
Presented by-
Eklavya Sharma (EE 2nd Yr.)
Jatin Sharma(ECE 2nd Yr.)

2. • E-waste describes end-of-life electrical/
electronic goods such as computers,
televisions, printers, mobile phones,
stereos, refrigerators, air conditioners etc.
• Each year between 20-50 million tons of e-
waste is generated worldwide.
• More and more outdated electronic
equipment ends up in landfill.
COMPUTERS,
TELEPHONE, FAX
WASHING
MACHINES,
DRYERS, AIR
CONDITIONERS,
VACUUM CLEANERS
REFRIGERATORS
MONITORS
TELEVISIONS
DVD/VCR
PLAYERS,RADIOS,
WI-FI SETS
ELECTRONIC
WASTE
100 %
ELECTRIC
WASTE
50
0
30 %
10 %
15 %
15 %
20 %
10 %

3. WHY E-WASTE INCREASING ?

4. WHY E-WASTE HAZARDOUS ?
Rapid
Technology
Changes
Increased
Consumer
Electronic
Purchases
More
E-Waste
More
Hazardous
Materials
Landfilled
Increasing
Human
Health
Risks

5. 0
1000000
2000000
3000000
4000000
5000000
6000000
Plastic Lead Mercury Nickel Copper
5599997.9
1679994
12879.4 240791.4
1959993
Toxic elements added to environment from E-waste in India
E-waste Generated Annually ( in tonnes)

6. • More and more e-waste are generated due to the rapid obsolescence of gadgets
• The high demand for new technologyHIGH VOLUMES
•Hazardous waste having adverse health effect
•Environmental implicationsTOXIC DESIGN
• E-waste imposes many challenges on the recycling industry
•Toxic materials are attached to non-toxic materials, making separation difficultPOOR DESIGN AND COMPLEXITY
•Occupational exposures, informal sector domination causing health problems
•Lack of labour standards and rights.LABOUR ISSUES
•Not enough value in most e-waste to cover the costs of managing
•With rising e-waste quantities, formal recyclers are entering e-waste recycling sectorFINANCIAL INCENTIVES
•Lack of adequate regulations applying to this relatively new waste stream
•Lack of effective enforcement of new e-waste regulationsLACK OF REGULATION

7. HAZARDOUS WASTE GENERATING PARTS OF YOUR PC
1. Lead in cathode ray tubes and solder
2. Arsenic in older cathode ray tubes
3. Selenium in circuit boards as power
to supply rectifier
4. Polybrominated flame retardants in
plastic casings, cables, and circuit
boards
5. Antimony trioxide as flame retardant
6. Cadmium in circuit boards and
semiconductors
7. Chromium in steel as corrosion
protection
8. Cobalt in steel for structural strength
and magnetivity
9. Mercury in switches and housing

8. Environmental
Environmental
Health
Environmental
Environmental
Health
Health
Health

9. • Growth of Technological Devices
• Use of computers is quickly rising because of
globalization
DEVELOPMENT
• The coming of newer products and appliances
• new products coming out more frequentlyTECHNOLOGY
• Substitution of older materials with the newer ones
• Money power has helped them buy more productsHUMAN MENTALITY
• Increasing population leads to increase the no. of
computersPOPULATION
CAUSES OF INCREASING E-WASTE

10. TECHNICAL INTERVENTIONS
• Inventory management
• Production process
modification
• Volume reduction
• Recovery and reuse
• Sustainable product
design involving:
• Rethinking on
procedures of designing
the product (flat
computers)
• Use of renewable
material
• Creating components of
biodegradable material
• Using green packaging
• Utilizing minimum
packaging material
POLICY - LEVEL
INTERVENTIONS
• Clear definition of e-
waste for regulation.
• Import and export
regulatory regime.
• An integrated IT waste
management policy
• Legislation for collection,
recycling and disposal.
• Take back policies
IMPLEMENTATION AND
CAPACITY BUILDING
• Institutional capacity
building
• Formalizing the informal
recycling sector
• Technical advantage of
processes improvement
(restructuring recycling)
• Protective protocol for
workers in e-waste
disposal
• Bilateral and multilateral
cooperation
AWARENESS BUILDING
• Donating electronics for
reuse
• While buying electronic
products opting devices
with -
• Fewer toxic
constituents
• Recycled content
• Easy upgrading or
disassembly
• Minimal packaging
• Leasing or take back
options.
• Building of consumer
awareness through public
awareness campaigns
and mass media

11. REUSE
• Reusing can be achieved through repairing, upgrading used electrical
equipment
• Example- adding memory to a computer, upgrading software, many ink
cartridges can be refilled with ink for reuse using toner refill kits, alkaline
batteries can be recharged.
• Check around local schools/charities to see if they can use your surplus
appliances
• There are many companies that will refurbish your old computer
equipment for use by those who cannot afford new items.

12. RECYCLE
1. REMANUFACTURING INTO SUBASSEMBLIES AND COMPONENTS – The manual
disassembly of a device or component to recover value.
2. DEPOLLUTION – The removal and separation of certain materials to allow them to
be handled separately to minimize impacts, including batteries, fluorescent lamps
and cathode ray tubes (CRTs).
3. MATERIALS SEPARATION – Manually separating and preparing material for further
processing.
4. MECHANICAL PROCESSING OF SIMILAR MATERIALS – Processing compatible
plastic resins, metals or glass from CRTs to generate market-grade commodities.
5. MECHANICAL PROCESSING OF MIXED MATERIALS – Processing whole units
followed by a series of separation technologies.
6. METAL REFINING/SMELTING – At this stage, thermal and chemical management
processes are used to extract metals.

13. CONCERNS: INFORMAL RECYCLING
High-risk backyard operation
Occupational and environmental hazards
Loss of resources due to inefficient
processes
Impacts vulnerable social groups- Women,
children and migrant labour

14. PROPOSED E-WASTE SOLUTION
• The least preferred option is to landfill electronic waste but this should only come
as a last option and care to consult with state regulations on disposal of any
hazardous waste
• Create incentives to attract people to recycle
• Proper disposal treatment system should be installed in every city
• Producers must be responsible for the entire lifecycle of their products. Ex - Many
cities of California and Massachusetts, including San Francisco, also have passed
resolutions supporting ‘PRODUCER TAKE BACK’ rules.
• Ex – Wipro & InfoTech has launched an e-waste disposal service for end
customers. Others offering recycling options include Dell, HP and Apple
• Improvement in legislation and creating awareness and community involvement

15. PROPOSED E-WASTE RULES
Title: E-waste (Management & Handling) Rules to be published under the Environment
Protection Act
OBJECTIVE :To put in place an effective mechanism to regulate the generation, collection,
storage, transportation, import, export, environmentally safe recycling, treatment and
disposal of e-waste. This includes refurbishment, collection system and producer
responsibility thereby reducing the wastes destined for final disposal.
ESSENCE: The producer of electrical and electronic equipment's is responsible for the
entire life cycle of its own branded product and in particular the environmentally safe
end-of-life management and facilitating collection and take back.

16. NOT ENOUGH STORAGEBROKEN CAMERA
Experimental – We examined variety of discarded e- gadgets and analyzed the reusable parts.
The whole gadget has been discarded though only 1 or 2 parts are damaged.

17. BROKEN PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARD
Experimental Continued…

18. WITHIN INDIA
1. Knowledge bank for e-waste management in India- The Asia Pro Eco programme supported by the European Commission is dedicated to the
environmental performance in Asian Economic sectors through the exchange of environmental policies, technologies and practices and to promote
sustainable investment and trade between the European Union Member States and South Asia, South-East Asia and China.
2. The E-waste Guide, India (www.ewaste.in)- An Initiative of the Indo–German–Swiss Partnership [Ministry of Environment and Forests, German Federal
Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs] It is designed to serve as an information resource on
e-waste as well as a common collaborative work platform for stakeholders.
3. National Solid Waste Association of India (NSWAI) (www.nswai.com) - A leading professional non-profit organization in the field of solid-waste
management, including toxic and hazardous waste and also biomedical waste in India. Its objectives include development of solid-waste management as a
profession, research and development, development of expertise, standards and goods practices with regards to solid-waste management.
4. Toxics Link (www.toxicslink.org) - A Delhi-based environment activist group with a mission of working for environmental justice and freedom from
toxics. It is also actively involved in creating public awareness on environmental issues through publications, reports, articles and environment news
bulletins besides organizing various events.
5. Others are stEP Work web, WEEE Forum, Clean India, Indian Environmental Society, INDIA HABITAT CENTRE and Microbial Biotechnology Area of Tata
Energy Research Institute.
INTERNATIONAL NETWORKS
1. Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition- It is a diverse grassroots coalition that engages in research and advocacy and is organized around the environmental and
health. The Coalition has built a united campaign of allies, including community residents, consumers, electronics and technology workers and government
policy makers to raise the environmental consciousness and performance of the high-tech sector.
2. The Basel Action Network (BAN)- A global network of toxics and development activist organizations that share a vision of international environmental
justice. The network seeks to prevent all forms of ‘toxic trade’ – in toxic wastes, toxic products and toxic technologies. It works to prevent the globalization
of the toxic chemical crisis.
3. Others are the International Solid Waste Association, Solid Waste Association of North America, Environmental Protection Agency, etc.

19. RecyclingLandfilling

20. CONCLUSIONS
• Reuse, reduce and recycle are the effective solutions of the problems of
e-waste.
• The need of hour is an urgent approach to the e-waste hazard by –
Technical interventions, implementation and capacity building and
increase in public awareness
 Recycling should be done by approved units with pollution control
technologies
Informal sector needs to be organized and should be involved in
collection, segregation, dismantling and refurbishing of waste