TOI : Govt drafts bill to tackle e-waste : Nov 7,2007

Mumbai: The government is drafting a Bill which will cover the collection and disposal of electronic waste in the state’s urban areas. With Mumbai recently topping the list of e-waste generating cities of India, the first-of-itskind piece of legislation will be a welcome step, say experts.

    Last week, officials of the urban development department, environment department, BMC and Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) met to discuss the issue of e-waste and its disposal. MPCB’s recent study on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) had shown that Mumbai, which generated over 11,000 tonnes of e-waste per year, topped the country while Pune too figured within the top 10. The problem is only compounding; the Electronics Industry Association has predicted that e-waste will increase by 11 times by 2012.

    “There is no system at the moment to separate e-waste from municipal waste. If ewaste, much of which contains lead, lies in dumping grounds, it can contaminate groundwater,’’ said T C Benjamin, principal secretary, urban development. The Bill, which the government hopes to finalise in five months, will now be framed by the state’s environment department.

    “It will look at the process of disposal, management and treatment of e-waste,’’ MPCB member-secretary Sanjay Khandare told TOI. “We are looking at outsourcing the job to a private agency which will be responsible for the collection and disposal,’’ he added. An authority of the state government, whether the municipal corporation or council, would supervise, Benjamin added. The mode of collection, the penalties and other details will be laid out in the rules.

    While private e-waste recyclers target large industrial estates like Hinjewadi near Pune, household e-waste generation is a largely ignored area. “While 20% of e-waste is generated by large companies, 80% is generated at the household level,’’ said Siddharth Mandaviya of MGA Associates, an e-waste management company. People throw out computers every 1.5 years and refrigerators every 5-7 years, which are recycled in ways that are hazardous to the environment, Mandaviya added.

E-waste can be referred to all end-of-life or disposed electrical and electronic products, components and peripherals including computers, cell phones, fax machines, photocopies, radios and televisions. India produces 1.46 lakh tonnes of e-waste annually Maharashtra generates over 20,000 tons of e-waste per year Mumbai alone generates 11,000 tons per year

Publication:Times Of India Mumbai; Date:Nov 7, 2007; Section:Times City; Page Number:2