In a time when IT and telecoms are booming, e-waste management companies should be benefiting, but this is not the case in India.
Such companies may have to wait until legislation is enacted that will provide the necessary compulsion to disposal of electronic products sustainably. At the moment environmental awareness on electronic waste disposal is poor and the cost of promoting the right messages to consumers is high. The draft e-waste policy legislation is expected to help achieve progress once it becomes law in the next few months.
An indication of how poor consumer awareness is in India is that an e-waste management plant in Uttarakhand is currently operating at just 1% of its 36,000 tonne capacity and this is not for lack of trying. Attero, based in Delhi, has instigated a collection drive in partnership with leading electronics manufacturers and large corporate users.
Recycling of e-waste is expensive and the current costs fall on either the product manufacturer or the owner. However, consumers in India are unlikely to accept this willingly before becoming aware of the benefits of recycling. The Indian government will need to decide whether to opt for an advance fee payable as part of the product’s purchase price, or as an exit fee payable when the product is discarded.
Over 130 million mobile phones and eight million PCs were sold in India last year – a mobile phone’s average lifespan is two years and a PC’s about four. Not surprisingly, over 400,000 tonnes of e-waste is produced in India each year.