The Hindu Business Line : Picking up the pieces

Bangalore, the tech hub of India, is witnessing an alarming growth in electronic waste, and it has become the site where environmentalists, representatives from industry, manufacturers and the Government are meeting to frame a `system' around management of e-waste.

The city produces 8,000 tonnes of electronic waste annually. Of this, obsolete and discarded PCs, TVs, and mobile phones constitute around 65 tonnes. Further, Bangalore generates about 4,00,000 dry-cell batteries and several thousand CDs and floppies every month. So it seems the perfect place to begin and set an example for the rest of the country.

According to various reports, India produces anywhere between 80,000 and 1,50,000 tonnes of electronic waste annually.

Learning from Europe

Beginning with networking everyone in the e-waste ecosystem, The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) plans to take up a pivotal role in e-waste management in India.

The institute recently conducted a workshop, inviting seven experts from the European Union to share best practices being implemented in Europe and how they could be tailored to suit India's needs.

"This way, we need not re-invent the wheel," says Rashmi Gopal, a spokesperson for TERI. While the European Union took 10 years to get a complete system in place, India could absorb lessons and arrive much faster.

Of course, India has its own unique processes. While what the legal recyclers, most of the industry, and government leaders are talking about would deal with business to business (B2B) transactions of PCs and peripherals, a much larger question looms ahead. Who will help the common man dispose of batteries, PCs, gadgets and electronic items safely?

The answer lies in the cheerful shout of your neighbourhood kabaadi-wallah.

According to Almitra Patel, an environmentalist, customer to business (C2B) transactions of obsolete computer hardware are currently being taken care of by the unorganised (or informal) sector — the kabaadi-wallahs. Their skills, expertise and knowledge of materials could be used in initial collection and sorting of electronic waste.

Their role could be enhanced and they could prove a valuable resource to the formal sector, agrees Wilma Rodericks, member of an NGO, working on a pilot project called Ecobird. This is aimed at protecting the cause of kabaadi-wallahs across the country.

She says, "We expect the Government to support and establish a stable ecosystem. Authorisation and certification would be the first step towards creating a stable ecosystem."

Government control must: MAIT

Stability can be guaranteed only if governed well centrally, is the refrain from the Manufacturers' Association for Information Technology (MAIT). MAIT, the apex body representing IT hardware, training, IT design, R&D and associated services in India, is demanding more involvement from everyone. Beginning with the Government, to each of the nine industries that contribute to electronic waste, and entrepreneurs.

"The Government must co-ordinate with other industry bodies to deal with e-waste," stresses Sanjay Handu, Chairman of MAIT.

According to the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB), during the year 2002-03, only 93 battery units were filing returns, and this number has increased after repeated notices, public notices and awareness meetings, to 489 this year.

The KSPCB also plans to set up an Eco Park in the city "to demonstrate the recycle and reuse of industrial wastes and to study the response of various ornamental plants to water and air pollutants." The park will establish a close association between KSPCB, industries involved and environmental scientists, the Web site promises. However, officials at KSPCB were unavailable for comment.

Policy-making to take time

Industry experts unanimously decree that policy-making will take longer. Considering that the original guidelines were begun two years, ago, there seems to be a time warp holding up decision makers when it comes to electronic waste.

"We will be unable to take a decision immediately. Drafting a process is the first priority. We also need to assess and survey dumps. This will take a while," says Handu of MAIT. Beginning with take-back policies, and reaching up to the citizens' duty to dispose their gadgets safely, the policy will need much work.

In relation to take-back policies and the role of corporates, Rashmi Gopal of TERI says, "Take-back policies have proven to be not very feasible, thanks to the kabaadi-wallah culture in India."

IT major Wipro does have a take-back policy in place, but as of now, it is informal in nature. "The policy has not been formalised as we are awaiting more inputs and directions from the Government of India," explains Suresh Kumar M, Business Manager, Wipro Personal Computing.

Computer vendor Acer is also waiting for an e-waste recycling plant to be set up in Tamil Nadu, so its Pondicherry manufacturing facility will be able to dispose of electronic waste safely, says S Rajendran, GM-Sales and Marketing, Consumer Product Group, Acer India.

Another issue, according to BPOs and smaller business set-ups, is that while the bulk import of unbranded PCs and peripherals is duty-free, the Government prevents them from disposing of them easily. Hence firms are forced to hold onto their obsolete machines and dump them in warehouses. This bring up the classic issue — lack of useful regulations.

An entrepreneur has this to say: "Not much has been done to prevent illegal imports. There is also a severe shortage of professional pollution monitoring and control systems." Also, the role of the Government should mature to being more than that of a facilitator, he feels. "The Government should thoroughly review recycling facilities before issuing licences."

Recycling plants

Finally, the bottom-line is this: there is a need for, at the very least, 8-10 legal recycling plants, but the country has only a couple. Eparisara is one such, Trishyiraya Recycling India is another, based at Chennai. P. Parthasarathy, Director, Eparisara, feels that each metro needs 2-3 plants, each with a processing capacity of 10 tonnes a day.

Right on cue, domestic and international entrepreneurs alike are interested in setting up plants in the country. American recyclers are showing keen interest in setting up plants in the country, revealed Parthasarathy recently. Of course, they would come up only two years from now, he admits. Yet, it is a sign that good things are on their way.

It is hoped that the presence of international plants, along with the native ones, would generate a stable ecosystem for e-waste disposal in the country.

The Singapore-based recycler Cimelia Resource Recovery is another international recycler with plans to set foot in India.

The firm is in discussions with State governments to set up a plant in South India. This would be complete in eight months' time and would cover five acres.

The company has started groundwork in order to set up the plant and will be investing around Rs15-20 crore.

Cemilia's current plant at Singapore has a capacity of 25,000 tonnes per annum and was set up at a cost of Rs 70 crore.

Running at a capacity of 35-40 per cent, this plant too can be utilised to recycle e-waste from India.

Venkatesha Murthy, Director - Plant & Operation, Cimelia, says he also plans to immediately begin a pre-processing facility that can take up MNCs' e-waste.

With such involvement and help from other countries, both in sharing of best practices and entrepreneurial activity, e-waste management may soon be a reality. Here's working towards a bright future — clutter, and e-waste-free!

preethij@thehindu.co.in

Illustration: K. Raja

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