17-04-2013, 03:48 PM
Environmentally Sound Options for E-Waste Management
Environmentally Sound.doc (Size: 118.5 KB / Downloads: 54)
Abstract
"E-waste" is a popular informal name for electronic products nearing the end of their "useful life.”E-wastes are considered dangerous, as certain components of some electronic products contain materials that are hazardous, depending on their condition and density. ”. As per the Hazardous Wastes (Management and Handling) Rules, 2003, e-waste can be defined as “Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment” which include all components, sub assemblies and their fractions. The hazardous content of these materials pose a threat to human health and environment. Discarded computers, televisions, VCRs, stereos, copiers, fax machines, electric lamps, cell phones, audio equipment and batteries if improperly disposed can leach lead and other substances into soil and groundwater. Many of these products can be reused, renewed or recycled in an environmentally sound manner so that they are less harmful to the ecosystem. This paper highlights the hazards of e-wastes, the need for its appropriate management and options that can be implemented for disposing e-waste in an ecofriendly manner.
INTRODUCTION
Electronic products have made our life easy by saving time and being efficient. Now it has become difficult for us to function without electronic equipments. Most of our household work is done by using electronic appliances. From villages to cities, all of them are using electronic products either in the form of radio or a high tech computer. There are places in India where people do not have access to electricity but they still have electronic products operated with battery.
Increase in the use of electronic products have resulted in increase in production of these products and hence created a new waste, which is termed as Electronic waste or E-waste. Industrial revolution followed by the advances in information technology during the last century has radically changed people’s lifestyle. Although this development has helped the human race, mismanagement has led to new problems of contamination and pollution. The technical prowess acquired during the last century has posed a new challenge in the management of wastes. Electronic products, which were once thought to be luxury, have presently become a need.
EFFECT ON HUMAN HEALTH
E-waste contains significant quantities of toxic metals and chemicals. If these are left untreated and disposed off in landfills or not recycled by using proper methods of recycling, they leach into the surrounding soil, water and the atmosphere, and causes adverse effects on human health and environment. Many elements of this waste contain poisonous substances such as lead, tin, mercury, cadmium and barium, which cause severe diseases like cancer, birth defects, neurological and respiratory disorders.
MANAGEMENT OF E WASTE
It is estimated that 75% of electronic items are stored due to uncertainty of how to manage it. These electronic junks lie unattended in houses, offices, warehouses etc and are normally mixed with household wastes, which are finally disposed off at landfills. This necessitates implementable management measures.
In industries management of e-waste should begin at the point of generation. This can be done by waste minimization techniques and by sustainable product design. Waste minimization in industries involves adopting:
Material change
Hazardous materials used in either a product formulation or a production process may be replaced with a less hazardous or non-hazardous material. This is a very widely used technique and is applicable to most manufacturing processes. Implementation of this waste ¬reduction technique may require only some minor process adjustments or it may require extensive new process equipment. For example, a circuit board manufacturer can replace solvent-based product with water-based flux and simultaneously replace solvent vapour degreaser with detergent parts washer.
Process-equipment modification
Installing more efficient process equipment or modifying existing equipment to take advantage of better production techniques can significantly reduce waste generation. New or updated equipment can use process materials more efficiently producing less waste. Additionally such efficiency reduces the number of rejected or off-specification products, thereby reducing the amount of material which has to be reworked or disposed of. Modifying existing process equipment can be a very cost-effective method of reducing waste generation. In many cases the modification can just be relatively simple changes in the way the materials are handled within the process to ensure that they are not wasted. For example, in many electronic manufacturing operations, which involve coating a product, such as electroplating or painting, chemicals are used to strip off coating from rejected products so that they can be recoated. These chemicals, which can include acids, caustics, cyanides etc are often a hazardous waste and must be properly managed. By reducing the number of parts that have to be reworked, the quantity of waste can be significantly reduced.
THE INDIAN SCENARIO
While the world is marvelling at the technological revolution, countries like India are facing an imminent danger. E-waste of developed countries, such as the US, disposes their wastes to India and other Asian countries. A recent investigation revealed that much of the electronics turned over for recycling in the United States ends up in Asia, where they are either disposed of or recycled with little or no regard for environmental or worker health and safety. Major reasons for exports are cheap labour and lack of environmental and occupational standards in Asia and in this way the toxic effluent of the developed nations 'would flood towards the world's poorest nations. The magnitude of these problems is yet to be documented. However, groups like Toxic Links India are already working on collating data that could be a step towards controlling this hazardous trade.
Recycling
Monitors & CRT, keyboards, laptops, modems, telephone boards, hard drives, floppy drives, Compact disks, and mobiles, fax machines, printers, CPUs, memory chips, connecting wires & cables can be recycled.
Recycling involves dismantling i.e. removal of different parts of e-waste containing dangerous substances like PCB, Hg, separation of plastic, removal of CRT, segregation of ferrous and non-ferrous metals and printed circuit boards. Recyclers use strong acids to remove precious metals such as copper, lead, gold. The value of recycling from the element could be much higher if appropriate technologies are used. The recyclers working in poorly ventilated enclosed areas without masks and technical expertises are exposed to danger and slow chemical poisoning.
The existing dumping grounds in India are full and overflowing beyond capacity and it is difficult to get new dumping sites due to scarcity of land. Therefore recycling is the best possible option for the management of e-waste.
CONCLUSIONS
Electrical and electronic equipments cannot be avoided in today’s world. So also is the case of waste electronic and electrical equipments (WEEE). As long as this is a necessary evil, it has to be best managed to minimize its adverse impacts on environment. Through innovative changes in product design and use of environmentally friendly substitutes for hazardous substances, these impacts can be mitigated. Adoption of environmentally sound technologies for recycling and reuse of e-waste provides solution for environmentally sound management of e-waste. Thus, from the above aspects of management of e-waste it is quite necessary to have a hygienic way of disposal of e-waste.for the present and future generation.