e-waste in india

Computers sure are handy when they are working but once they've chewed their last byte, things can get a little messy. Toxic chemicals, carcinogens and heavy metals are all part of what makes their clocks tick and improper disposal can bring them all a little too close for human comfort.

Computer recycling is nothing new, but getting your old electronics to the great motherboard in the sky can be tricky to do responsibly. For years, developed countries have been exporting tons of electronic waste for inexpensive, labor-intensive recycling and disposal. Though the Indian Supreme Court banned the import of hazardous waste in 1997, e-waste still enters the country under the guise of charitable or re-usable materials, all duty-free.

It is estimated that the US alone exports 80% of its e-waste to China, India and Pakistan. Funnily enough, India’s regulatory body, the Central Pollution Control Board, continues to deny that e-waste is coming into India. But regardless, it is certain that legal loopholes are being exploited by importers, traders and recyclers alike to take advantage of a profitable business with a high human and environmental impact. Large e-waste centres exist in Delhi, Meerut, Ferozabad, Chennai, Bangalore and Mumbai, with 25,000 recyclers working in Delhi alone.

A report by India's Department of Scientific and Industrial Research shows that e-waste heading into India is increasing by 10% a year, with nearly all of it heading into urban slums for disassembly - which means a huge amount of toxins hitting a huge number of people. The total amount of India's e-waste imports is projected to reach 434,000 metric tons this year, and about 25,000 people in the country's slums will make up the bulk of the recycling industry there. The report notes that there is almost no oversight or regulation for dismantling used electronics there, which contain toxic substances like lead, mercury and cadmium, and are often disassembled in environmentally and toxic ways.

e-Waste is no small issue. Because it provides a form of income for those people working as dismantlers, their health is risked for survival - not a recipe for thriving. As stated above, the report estimates that 25,000 people in India's slums are working in this 'recycling' industry, where 95% of the e-waste imported will be dismantled. But that's just the people working in a way that can be reported - that's not all the people living in the area, breathing the air, drinking the water, walking past workshops. There is no really strong, wide-spread system for responsibly recycling e-waste.

Workers are poorly-protected in an environment where e-waste from PC monitors, PCBs, CDs, motherboards, cables, toner cartridges, light bulbs and tube-lights are burned in the open, releasing lead, mercury toxins into the air. Metals and non-degradable materials such as gold and platinum, aluminium, cadmium, mercury, lead and brominated flame-retardants are retrieved. “It is a means of livelihood for unorganized recyclers. Due to lack of awareness, they are risking their health and the environment as well. They use strong acids to retrieve precious metals such as gold. Working in poorly-ventilated enclosed areas without masks and technical expertise results in exposure to dangerous and slow-poisoning chemicals,” says Wilma Rodrigues of Bangalore-based NGO Saahas, adding that there are no clear guidelines for the unorganized sector to handle e-waste.

“Trade in e-waste, like that in other scrap, is dominated by the ‘informal’ sector. Although the waste trade sector in India is known as part of the ‘informal’ sector, it has a system that is highly organized with extensive co-ordination in an established network,” says K K Shajahan, principal consultant for Bangalore’s Indian Institute of Material Management. Though there have been efforts to organize and manage e-waste recycling from state to state – the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board, for example, has set down guidelines and authorized two companies to oversee corporate e-waste recycling as per their guidelines – nevertheless, some corporations, rather than to deal with the paperwork involved with the recycling procedures, will bypass them by passing e-waste off as “donations” to the unorganized sector.

According to Toxics Link, a Delhi-based NGO, India annually generates $1.5 billion worth of e-waste domestically, with the booming IT sector being the largest contributor, as 30% of its machines reach obsolescence annually. Bangalore alone generates 8,000 tons a year. A report put out by International Resource Group (IRG) estimates that by 2012, India’s domestic waste alone will amount to 1,600,000 tons.

Although the largely informal e-waste disposal industry and corresponding environmental threat is nothing new in India, it may now be changing as one of India’s largest metropolises is now boasting its very own professional e-waste pick-up service. Based in Mumbai, the privately owned and operated Eco Reco is the first of its kind in the state of Maharashtra and fourth in the country. Firms such as Eco Reco are taking advantage of a booming but hazardous industry, where e-waste is usually dismantled by workers with little protection in recycling plants that have even fewer safety and environmental contamination guidelines.

(Sourced from: www.treehugger.com)

the mobile green-pack

I'm on the market for a cellphone and like with any product I check out the internet first for user reviews, performance updates, price comparisons etc. The past two years has seen an explosion of eco-friendly cellphones and for obvious reasons I'm gravitating towards one of these.

Cell phones are probably one of the most frequently updated item of gadgetry. The average Indian changes cellphones every 18 months. Cell phones batteries are also a source of lithium, cadmium and other harmful chemicals. Not to mention all the metal and plastic bits on a phone. Out of all modern technology, cellphones are probably my favourite, next to digital cameras of course! My criteria for a green cell phone:

• the phone should be manufactured with recycled material as much as possible
• the production process of the phone itself should not be carbon intensive
  
• good battery life, features and ease of use
  
• should be easily recycled at the end of its use
• extra points for recyclable packaging
  
• should be affordable and look cool
  

So I've shortlisted a few. Take a look!

Sony Ericsson Green Heart:

Sony Ericsson is probably one of the greenest companies around. First, it has announced a new environmental warranty. And second, it has unveiled a new green concept phone called the GreenHeart.

The environmental warranty is essentially a green light for easy recycling. Now, when any Sony Ericsson product is taken to a designated collection point, the company will recycle this product in an environmentally sound way. This warranty is valid globally, regardless of where the product was originally purchased.

So far, over 500 collection points have been opened up in India, Taiwan, China, Thailand, Singapore USA and Mexico. And the company plans to expand the program so that every country in which it operates will have easily accessible collection points for recycling.

Now on to the more exciting news about GreenHeart. It is the new concept phone that would feature some very cool green elements. It is a full concept with all life cycle in mind it includes features such as bio-plastic housings, recycled plastic keypads, zero charger with 3.5mW standby power, HTML based e-manuals, a game style educational application ‘Ecomate’ and environmentally conscious packaging.

Nokia 3110 Evolve:

The company recently knocked off Sony Ericsson on the Greenpeace list of most sustainable electronic companies. Nokia, is focusing on phones that have green features. Phones with these features beep when they're fully charged so that they can be unplugged. They have a light sensor that detects natural light so that the phone can save energy.

The Evolve comes with a media player, a 1.3 megapixel camera, bluetooth as well as external memory to store music and photos. What I like best is that the phone comes with a AC-8 charger that minimises the 'vampire power' consumption in case you forget to unplug it from the power socket. The packaging is smaller and uses 60% recycled materials. The body is made up of unpainted bio-sourced materials that reduce fossil fuel usage.

It looks pretty basic but it is incoporates environment-friendly innovations. If the Green heart and Blue Earth turn out to be too expensive I might just go with this one. Nokia is unfailingly user-friendly which is always a bonus.

Samsung Blue Earth Cell Phone:

Hitting the UK in the second half of 2009, the Samsung Blue Earth phone is a touchscreen smart phone that can apparently generate the power it needs to make a call any time from the solar panel built into the back.

Most of the phone is constructed from PCM, a plastic extracted from recycled water bottles and both the handset and energy efficient charger ditch harmful substances such as Brominated Flame Retardants, Beryllium and Phthalate. Additionally, the phone comes in recycled packaging.“Samsung’s ‘The Blue Earth Dream’ demonstrates our small but meaningful commitments for the future and our environment,” said Mr. JK Shin, Executive Vice President and Head of Mobile Communication Division of Samsung Electronics.

It has a built-in pedometer that can calculate and tell you how many trees you are saving by walking instead of driving. At first glance, the solar power feature is pretty darn exciting. But it is questionable of how powerful that solar panel must be to charge up an energy-intensive touchscreen phone for 24/7 use. Perhaps it's simply that it can get enough juice from the sun to make a call, but not run much else on the phone. Also, are people really going to leave their phone in the sun long enough and often enough to charge it? At any rate, it's an excellent addition to a cell phone so that needed back-up power can be gathered when it's bright out.

Motorola Renew:

It is being touted as the world's first carbon neutral cell phone. The MOTO W233 Renew is made from plastics comprised of recycled water bottles and is100% recyclable. Through an alliance with Carbonfund.org, Motorola offsets the carbon dioxide required to manufacture, distribute and operate the phone through investments in renewable energy sources and reforestation. The phone has earned Carbonfund.org’s CarbonFree® Product Certification after an extensive product life-cycle assessment.

When designing the packaging, Motorola was able to reduce its size by 22% and the box and all of the materials inside are printed on 100% post-consumer recycled paper. In addition, a postage-paid recycling envelope in box makes it easy to return your previous mobile phone for recycling at no cost. Renew was designed for eco-conscious consumers as well as the millions of people who put making phone calls as their number one priority in a mobile phone. With nine hours of talk time, CrystalTalk technology and messaging capabilities, Renew makes environmental responsibility affordable for consumers everywhere. Renew will first be available at T-Mobile USA in 2009.

ZTECoral-200-Solar:

This is a fairly basic cellphone in comparion. It is designed to be used in locations where electricity and charging outlets are not readily available. While it is marketed as environmentally friendly, the only thing green about it is its ability to charge up with the sun. Solar can be used in any type of handset if you have a solar charger powerful enough to charge the phone's battery. But is this solar cell strong enough?

The phone is really bare bones, it looks like, so it very well might be enough, especially if the phone is only used for short, infrequent calls. Again, this is supposed to be a basic phone for basic use in places where electricity is scarce. But if that's the case seems like a greener, cheaper option would be to organize better used cell phone redistribution programs and package them up with quality external solar chargers that use fewer materials in total.

I'm a little dubious about Samsung's solar panels. I would buy it only if its reasonably cheap - I admit it looks pretty good, albeit bulky and has some cool eco-features. Although the idea of Motorola's first carbon-free phone is exciting, it looks rather drab. But I'm leaning more towards Sony Ericsson or Nokia. Ultimately the availability of the phone in India will be my biggest deciding factor. This list is by no means comprehensive, it is just a small guideline to what's out there. It is also important to bear in mind the manufacturer's eco-ranking - according to the Greenpeace list Sony Ericsson and Nokia are pretty high up.

The market for green phones is not expected to take off for another 2-5years, but the reason that manufacturers have put them out there is to stay ahead of the curve. Sure, they might be more expensive than other models but if you can afford it and have the option why not choose it. Ultimately, what is the price being paid for being 'cheap'?