Pollution control board washes its hands of e-waste

Says monitoring informal recycling sector, which processes 95% of electronic scrap, too risky

A child plays in plastic and electronic waste at Nayandahalli, a hub of the informal sector.

By Pallavi Ail

BANGALORE (Oct. 13)—The Karnataka State Pollution Control Board has told The Softcopy that it no longer monitors the informal e-waste recycling sector, which is responsible for the disposal and recycling of 95 percent of such waste.

According to KSPCB, Bangalore generates more than 12,000 metric tons of e-waste every year. There are 15 authorized factories in Bangalore that are meant to recycle such waste. In spite of having capacities of over 13,000 metric tons each, these factories do not operate to their full capacity.

E-waste dismantled by 2 sectors

In India, electronic waste is dismantled by two sectors:

• The formal sector, which consists of recyclers authorized by pollution control boards.
• The informal sector which consists of scrap dealers operating out of their residences illegally.

Schedule III of the E-waste (Management and Handling) Rules, which was enacted on May 14, 2010, says it is the duty of the state pollution control board to enforce the registration of e-waste recyclers or take action if they continue to operate illegally.

“We don’t go there,” said an official from the KSPCB Hazardous Waste Management Cell who did not wish to be named due to the sensitivity of the subject. “The place is very congested. We cannot go there without the police force. They [individuals in the informal sector] are dangerous people.”

The rules also transfer the responsibility of handling and disposal of e-waste to the producers of such waste.

“The informal sector offers a better price,” said Meghana Eshwar, coordinator (e-waste) of Saahas, an NGO that has been working in the field of e-waste management for the last six years. “As they don’t have to maintain equipment or follow laws of pollution control board, they pay more.”

The informal sector has the skills and know-how required for dismantling such waste. Firms in this sector recover precious metals such as gold from processing scrapped electronic equipment.

Disassembling electronic goods a dangerous process

As a result of aggressive campaigning by organizations like Saahas, the informal sector now knows that dismantling electronic goods is dangerous and requires protective gear.

According to a report compiled by Saahas, electronics contain metals including mercury, cadmium and lithium that can cause brain damage, cancer and pulmonary edema, respectively.

The U.N. Environment Program says that the ozone-depleting substances contained in certain electronic equipments have “huge global warming potential.”

E-waste movement not tracked in India

Meanwhile, there is no provision for tracking the movement of e-waste within India.

“There is a restriction that disposal of e-waste has to occur within the state where it is produced, but it can be sent anywhere in India to be recycled,” the official from KSPCB said.

Electronic waste in a scrap dealer's shop in Nalakamba, a village southwest of Bangalore

The 238 software firms in Bangalore send their waste across state borders wherever they get the best price. KSPCB does not keep track of where this waste ends up and whether it is processed in the formal or the informal sector. Once the waste moves out of its jurisdiction, KSPCB says the issue is no longer its to deal with.

Domestic laws governing the transportation of e-waste across international borders have been criticized for not fulfilling their purposes.

• India is a signatory and had ratified on June 24, 1992, the Basel Convention on controlling transboundary movement of hazardous wastes and their disposal. This convention prohibits movement of e-waste across international borders.
• The draft of the E-waste (Management and Handling) Rules released for public scrutiny in May 2010 stated that import of e-waste was to be banned. However, the final rules which come into effect from May 1, 2012, do not make any reference to this proposed provision.

Toxics Link, an NGO, is the Indian partner in a program initiated to formalize the informal sector in India. This program is financed by the European Commission and the German Economic Cooperation and Development Ministry.

“The government’s argument is that there are companies in India that deal with recycling of e-waste,” said Satish Sinha, Toxics Link associate director. “It is an economic activity, but is very, very skewed in my opinion. We are importing e-waste from all over the world when we don’t have the capacity to handle our own waste.”

The informal sector handles the majority of such waste.

The defense of economic benefit “becomes moot,” Sinha said, pointing out that individuals in this sector do not pay taxes because their activities are not registered. The money they earn is basically black money.

“The entire argument is flawed,” Sinha said.

He added that the amount of toxic e-waste that enters India cannot be estimated.

“It would be like estimating the amount of charas (cannabis) or AK-47s that enter the country. It is mostly illegal,” he said.