Managing and minimizing e-waste:
The production of electrical and electronic equipment is one of the fastest growing manufacturing activities worldwide. The emergent market penetration in developing countries, turnover in the developed world, and high obsolescence rates make e-waste also one of the fastest growing waste streams globally.
Electronic Waste is estimated to reach 0.8 Million in India by 2012. This new form of waste is one of the fastest growing waste streams around the world and is considered to be highly hazardous. Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Delhi, Karnataka, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Punjab are top ten E-Waste producing states in the country.
Most of us are not aware of the term E-Waste…..
E-Waste constitutes end of life electronic and electrical equipment. Anything that can be plugged and has a wire constitutes E-waste. Old Laptops, Computers, Keyboards, Mobile Phones, CDs etc are some examples of E-Waste. This E-Waste if not tackled in the right manner can cause serious health hazards.
What’s in your E-Waste?
The composition of e-waste is quite diverse and differs in products across different categories. E-waste contains more than 1000 different substances, which fall under ‘hazardous’ and ‘non-hazardous’ categories.
Electronic Equipments contain toxic substances such as Cadmium, Lead Solder, Palladium and Rhodium. If thrown away without being recycled, these can leak into the environment causing damage and contamination. 90% of E-waste is still handled in the informal sector which in turns causes landfills and loss of natural resources due to low recovery of materials. E-Waste also causes health impacts to workers and can cause diseases like Skin & bone diseases, Nervous System Damage, Heart & Muscle Damage, kidney & Liver damage etc.
The Only Solution:
Recycling raw materials from end-of-life electronics is the most effective solution to the growing e-waste problem. Most electronic devices contain a variety of materials, including metals that can be recovered for future uses. By dismantling and providing reuse possibilities, intact natural resources are conserved and air and water pollution caused by hazardous disposal is avoided.
Attero is the only E-waste recycling company in India which does complete end-to-end processing of E-waste with zero landfill. Attero has stepped in to fill the gap of responsible E-waste disposal and reconditioning with the aim of managing the challenges of sustainable solutions for the E-waste problem in India.
