Date:12/05/2005 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2005/05/12/stories/2005051217850300.htm

Karnataka - Bangalore

Environmental hazards in city likely if electronic waste is not tackled quickly

Staff Reporter

`As Bangalore is an IT hub, recyclers of e-waste must be involved in the project now before we have a disaster on our hands'

Trouble in store: Electronic waste is going to be a major threat to the environment in the future.

BANGALORE: The increasing number of information technology firms is choking the city under heaps of discarded computers and other electronic waste.

Environmentalists say that over 1,000 toxic gases are released by the burning of the electronic equipment and that the quantities of dioxins, copper and lead found in the soil is 20 times higher than the required level.

The manufacturers, consumers and the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) are now planning to set up a management system to maximise the use of functional components of computers and to ensure clean recovery of valuable components such as gold, silver and platinum. As part of it, a recycling plant will be established.

"We want to ensure complete recycling of all components of the computer. Once we find this model working, we will expand it to other electrical good such as refrigerators and microwaves," said P. Bineesha, Chief Environmental Advisor of the HAWA Project, at an awareness campaign on electronic waste.

It was organised by Max Mueller Bhavan in association with HAWA Project Karnataka to promote the Waste from Electronic and Electrical Equipment (WEEE) programme in the city. WEEE is a directive of the European Union on the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment and to ensure its proper recycling. Rolf Widmer, project manager for EMPA, a laboratory in Switzerland, said "e-waste is a burning issue that would have serious environmental applications if it is not addressed quickly enough."

The problem, he said, was that there was no organised method to recycle e-waste in most parts of India. As a result, it is burnt with the rest of the garbage.

Drawing from the e-waste programme being implemented in Switzerland, he suggested that Bangalore create a management system that will ensure that the public and industries take part in the recycling process.

While legislation was not essential to the process, he advocated an incentive-based method.

Like in Switzerland, Mr. Widmer said advanced recycling fees could be imposed on the electronic equipment sold in the market. He said Switzerland imposes advanced fees of 0.5 per cent to one per cent of the cost of the electronic equipment. "This ensures that people recycle their waste," he said.

Sanjay Handu, Director of Strategic Sourcing for Tyco Electronics, said that any system to manage e-waste in India has to factor the population size and the large geographical extent of use of the equipment.

It would also be difficult to monitor the quantities of electronic equipment manufactured and those recycled.

"Indians use equipment for really long periods. They use the same computer for eight years by increasing its memory space and going in for upgrades. It will be a challenge to monitor it and develop a databank," he said.

A survey by members of the HAWA Project early this year found that there were 500 recyclers in the city. "As Bangalore is the IT hub of the country, the most recyclers are found here. But we got to get them involved in the activity now before we have a disaster on our hands," said Ms. Bineesha.