Guwahati, January 6 : In order to raise awareness about the harmful consequences of improper e-waste disposal and benefits of recycling and to urge people to send e-waste for formal recycling, a workshop on ‘E-Waste Management’ was organized today by the Department of Computer Science & Electronics, University of Science & Technology Meghalaya at the NKC Auditorium of the University.
The workshop was conducted by Syed Miraz Ahmed and Mr Abdul Hasib from Terra Matter Initiative Private Limited, a company that is developing a recycling channel for E-Waste in North East India and aims to contribute to the global rate of recycling E-Waste formally. The interactive workshop was participated by more than 200 enthusiastic students as well as teachers and staff.
Making his presentation, Syed Miraz Ahmed said that there is no E-Waste recycler in the North East region of India. He said that E-Waste or electronic waste refers to old electrical and electronic equipment that have reached the end of their life. E-Waste contains numerous toxins, which if not disposed in an appropriate manner can cause environmental pollution and health hazards.
He said that E-Waste is a growing problem and India is now officially the world’s third-biggest E-Waste generator, producing over 3.23 million metric tons of E-Waste per year, behind the US and China. “India’s E-Waste production has risen almost 2.5 times to 3.23 million metric tons in six years in 2019, according to the Global E-Waste Monitor Report 2020. 95 per cent of E-Waste still continues to be handled by the informal sector”, he added.
Addressing the students, Abdul Hasib stated that E-Waste damages the environment by releasing greenhouse gases, harming wildlife and their habitats, and negatively affecting human health. “In 2019 an estimated 88.9 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalents was released into the atmosphere from the refrigerator and air conditioner e-waste alone. This contributed roughly 0.3% of global greenhouse emissions for 2019. In order to manufacture a single computer and monitor, it requires 500lb of fossil fuels, 1.5 tons of water, and 50lb of chemicals. The 17.4% of E-Waste recycled in 2019 prevented 13.6 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalents from being released into the environment”, he stated.
The experts also highlighted Government of India’s guidelines for implementation of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR). According to this, the producers are required to have arrangements with authorized dismantlers/ recyclers either individually or collectively or through PRO and Sourcing Partner. Every producer should make an application seeking EPR authorization in Form- 1 of E-Waste management Rulers, 2016, which should provide information regarding collection and channelization of their end of life products.