ROLE OF INFORMAL RECYCLING IN E-WASTE MANAGEMENT

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1 Proceedings of the 13 th International Conference of Environmental Science and Technology Athens, Greece, 5-7 September 2013 ROLE OF INFORMAL RECYCLING IN E-WASTE MANAGEMENT DEEPA CHAUDHARY 1, SHWETA SAXENA 2 ¹Student,Sector 125,Amity Institute of Environmental Sciences, Amity University, Noida ²Student,Sector 125,Amity Institute of environmental Sciences, Amity University, Noida 1 cdeepa85@yahoo.co.in 2 saxenashweta802@gmail.com ABSTRACT Waste is a subjective term. Some see waste as a risk and others as a source of income. There is a lack of consensus as to whether the term should apply to resale, reuse, and refurbishing industries, or only to product that cannot be used for its intended purpose. Many thousands of people depend on recycling materials from waste for their livelihood thus one of the major challenges is how best to work with this informal sector to improve their livelihood, working conditions and efficiency in recycling. The general characteristics of informal recycling are reviewed, highlighting both positive and negative aspects. Informal processing of electronic waste may cause serious health and pollution problems thus great care must be taken to avoid unsafe exposure in recycling operations but despite the health and social problems associated with informal recycling, it provides significant economic benefits that need to be retained. The preferred option is to integrate the informal sector into waste management planning, building on their practices and experience, while working to improve efficiency and the living and working conditions of those involved. Keywords: Informal recycling, Informal Sector, Recycling, Reuse, Waste Management planning. I. INTRODUCTION E-waste is amongst the fastest growing areas across the globe which has led to an increase in E-waste. Electronic waste comprises of old lifeless electronic appliances like television, computers, DVD s, mobile phones that have been disposed by the original users. The study also reveals that only about 6 percent of the e-waste is recycled, of which 95 percent only is recycled through the informal sector. E-waste recycling in the informal sector provides jobs to thousands of people across globe but at the same time, this sector is lacking skills needed to manage hazardous material that could be harmful to people working in it. The informal sector is characterized by small-scale, labour -intensive, largely unregulated and unregistered,low technology manufacturing or provision of services (Wilson, Whiteman, & Tormin, 2001). In the informal sector entrepreneurs or enterprises do not pay taxes, have no trading license and are not included in social welfare or government insurance schemes (Haan, Coad, & Lardinois, 1998). Many of these products can be reused, refurbished, or recycled in an environmentally sound manner so that they are less harmful to the ecosystem. In view of this, many countries have drafted legislation to improve reuse and recycling in order to reduce disposal.

2 ІІ. SCENERIA OF E-WASTE IN INDIA In India a number of studies have been carried out since 2004 on e-waste generation and its recycling in different geographical locations. According to recent studies carried out by Manufacturer s Association of Information Technology (MAIT) and the Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) in 2007, about 380,000 tons of e-waste is generated annually in India and taking into account the sales of PC and consumer electronics the generation of e-waste is expected to touch 470,000 tons by The study also reveals that only about 19,000 tons of e-waste is recycled annually. The share of software services in the electronics and IT sector has gone up from 38.7 percent in to 61.8 percent in According to the estimates made by MAIT the Indian PC industry is growing at 25 percent annually. During PC sales grew at 16 percent annually and consumer electronics sales grew at percent annually while the cellular phone subscribers reached a growth rate of 96.8 percent in With the increased use of electrical and electronic equipments the e-waste generation also increased but the assessment shows that only about 5.7 percent of this e- waste is being recycled. According to TRAI, India added million cellular customers in 2008, with an average 9.5 million customers added every month. The major problems have started to occur after first phase of economic liberalization after Due to stiff competition in the market, Indian market grew. In India, most of the operations related to E-waste such as collections, segregation, dismantling, recycling, and disposals are performed manually. In India, Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) is the main national authority responsible for legislation regarding waste management and environmental protection. It also provides assistance and guidelines on legal and technical issues, gathers statistical data, and conducts training on the proper management of hazardous waste. The preliminary estimates suggest that the total waste production in India is tonnes/year which is expected to increase tonnes/year y It also provides assistance and guidelines on legal and technical issues, gathers statistical data, and conducts training on the proper management of hazardous waste. The preliminary estimates suggest that the total waste production in India is tonnes/year which is expected to increase tonnes/year 2012.Cellular market grew from million in to million in (TRAI ). In 2006, microwaves, ovens, air conditioners registered growth of about 25%. Refrigerator sales amounted to 4.2 millions in and its production increased by 17 %.The penetration power of colored TV sets has been increased by 2007 (NCAER 2007). ІІІ EFFECTS ON ENVIRONMENT AND HUMAN HEALTH Disposal of e-wastes is a particular problem faced in many regions across the globe. Computer wastes that are land filled produces contaminated leachates which eventually pollute the groundwater. Acids and sludge obtained from computer chips, if disposed on the ground causes soil acidification. Incineration of e-wastes can emit toxic fumes and gases which pollute the surrounding air. Improperly monitored landfills can cause environmental hazards. When brominated flame retardant plastic or cadmium containing plastics are landfilled, it may leach the soil and groundwater. It has been found that significant amounts of lead ion are dissolved from broken lead containing glass such as the cone glass of cathode ray tubes, gets mixed with acid waters and are a common occurrence in landfills. Not only does the leaching of mercury poses

3 specific problems, the vaporization of metallic mercury and dimethylene mercury, both part of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) is also of concern. In addition, uncontrolled fires may arise at landfills and this could be a frequent occurrence in many countries. The most dangerous form of burning e-waste is the open-air burning of plastics in order to recover copper and other metals. The toxic fall-out from open air burning affects both the local environment and broader global air currents, depositing highly toxic products in many places throughout the world. If the electronic items are discarded with other household garbage, the toxics pose a threat to both health and vital components of the ecosystem. In view of the ill-effects of hazardous wastes to both environment and health, several countries exhorted the need for a global agreement to address the problems and challenges posed by hazardous waste. Also, in the late 1980s, a tightening of environmental regulations in industrialized countries led to a dramatic rise in the cost of hazardous waste disposal. E-waste management strategy for India has the following challenges that are needed to be studied and addressed in more systematic and scientific manner:- Scientific challenges: a) Eco-friendly recovery solutions - Precious metals - Base metals b) Value addition to recyclables for reuse - Plastics - Glass and other recyclables c) Disposal of process waste and residues - Size reduction - Toxic reduction Engineering challenges: a) Scientific collection, transport, handling, segregation, and disposal of E-waste b) Integrated/distributed processing facilities - Unorganized to organized - Involvement of SMEs and NGOs c) Feasible techno-economical solutions - Processing - Recycling - Recovery Organizational challenges

4 - Appropriate definition for E-waste in Indian context - Inventorization of E-waste generation, import, and its characterization - Organization and structuring E-waste management system - Training and awareness on safety, health, and environment ІV. INFORMAL E-WASTE RECYCLING Informal waste recycling is carried out by poor and marginalised social groups who resort to scavenging/waste picking for income generation and some even for everyday survival. This is an adaptive response to scarcity by disadvantaged populations. Informal recyclers often form discrete social groups or belong to minorities. Four main categories of informal waste recycling can be identified, depending on where and how material recovery takes place : (a) Itinerant waste buyers: Waste collectors who often go from door to door, collecting sorted dry recyclable materials from householders or domestic servants, which they buy or barter and then transport to a recycling shop of some kind. Apart from their labour, they invest capital to acquire and run a vehicle. (b)street waste picking: Secondary raw materials are recovered from mixed waste thrown on the streets or from communal bins before collection. (c) Municipal waste collection crew: Secondary raw materials are recovered from vehicles transporting MSW to disposal sites. (d) Waste picking from dumps: Waste pickers/scavengers sort through wastes prior to being covered. This is often associated with communities that live in shacks, built from waste construction materials, on or near the dump. Table 1 : Hierarchy of informal sector recycling

5 Figure 1. Example flow chart of an informal recycling system, showing four types of informal recycling (Wilson et al, 2001) The informal recycling sector is often highly skilled at identifying wastes with potential value. They collect materials when they have been discarded as waste and add value to them by sorting, cleaning, altering the physical shape to facilitate transport or by aggregating materials (Scheinberg, 2001a) into a commercially viable quantity. Despite the particularly adverse working conditions associated with informal recyclers, it is important to recognise that it allows those involved to survive and be employed in regions that often have high unemployment. V CONCLUSION The problem of E- waste is growing rapidly in India since the systems in India have barriers from socio-economic and legal reasons.the E-waste recycling and recovery options practiced in India are very outdated and hazardous causing severe environmental and occupational hazards. There is a need for further research and consideration on policy as well as technical level to answer how to adopt and successfully combine the experience and knowhow of the existing E-waste management models from abroad, with the current E-waste system in India, in order to have the formal and well-regulated E-waste Management system for India. Many thousands of people in developing country cities depend on recycling materials from waste for their livelihoods. With the focus of the Millennium Development Goals on poverty reduction and of waste strategies on improving recycling rates, one of the major challenges in SWM in developing countries is how best to work with this informal sector to improve their livelihoods, working conditions and efficiency in recycling. Developing economies face the challenge, but also the opportunity of building on, rather than replacing their existing informal recycling systems. Measures need to be taken to protect livelihoods while working to improve both the efficiency and the living and working conditions of those involved.

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