Mumbai sitting on e-waste

Ever though of what happens to a discarded personal computer or a cell phone or any other electronic and electrical gadget for that matter? It heads straight to illegal disposal. The raw material used to manufacture these gadgets then turns into the biggest hazard for the society.
“Mumbai generates 1000 tones of e-waste every month which is posing a grave threat for soil, trees and environment,” says Rajkumar Sharma, convener of Clean-sweep Forum, a city based NGO working to create awareness about e-waste. The NGO had recently organised a seminar in the city to create awareness on e-waste.
“It is high time we acted to find out appropriate solutions to the problem before it turned un-manageable like the solid waste. Most importantly, people must come to terms with so called donations from developed countries,” Sharma said. Many developed countries are dumping their e-waste in third world countries in the name of donations, he added.
“E-waste or Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) is a waste type consisting of any broken or unwanted electrical or electronic device. Some define e-waste to include all secondary computers, entertainment devices, electronics, mobile phones and other items, whether they have been sold, donated, or discarded by their original owner,” says Abhishek Pratap, Toxins Campaigner of Greenpeace. Pratap feels that if treated properly, electronic waste is a valuable source for secondary raw materials. Otherwise it is a major source of toxins and carcinogens. Toxic substances in electronic waste may include lead, mercury, and cadmium. The un-sustainability of discarding electronics and computer technology is another reason for the need to reuse electronic waste, Pratap says.
“Uncontrolled burning, disassembly, and disposal are causing environmental and health problems, including occupational safety and health effects among those directly involved, due to the methods of processing the waste,” Pratap said. Experts feel that if the estimated amount of e-waste generated every year would be put into containers on a train it would go once around the world.
E-waste now makes up five percent of all municipal solid waste worldwide, nearly the same amount as all plastic packaging, but it is much more hazardous.
“Mobile phones and computers are causing the biggest problem because they are replaced most often,” Pratap said.
“There is an urgent need of proper co-ordination among the entire stake holders like the MPCB, BMC and forest department to find out best possible solution to the problem,” Sharma said. Clean sweep will soon launch a mass awareness programme on e-waste. “We feel that scientific disposal of electronic and electrical gadget is the responsibility of the manufacturers. They must take back discarded products for appropriate disposal or recycling,” Sharma said.