Are you recycling your e-waste?

From May 1 2012 as per the central governmentrsquos ewaste Management and Handling Rules 2011 consumers will have to route their ewaste to recycling units for scientific dismantling and recycling This is to be executed through collection centres established by the product manufacturers Raj Gandhi facility manager The Imperial Twin Towers at Tardeo drops a computer keyboard into an ewaste bin the contents of which will be sent to a scientific recycling facilityu00a0If left to the vagaries of the informal recycling sector ewaste contaminates the soil air and water around us pic suresh kk Yeshwant Sontakke regional officer Maharashtra Pollution Control Board MPCB explains ldquoWe have instructed product manufacturers to set up collection centres where people can deposit electronic gadgets whose life cycle has ended MPCB has also directed these manufacturers to recycle unbranded electronic gadgets that may be brought in by consumers This will be accomplished in phases with us conducting regular reviews Manufacturers have been instructed to advertise about the ewaste recycling services and educate people about the same MPCB has tied up with NGOs to disseminate this message among people toordquo However he rues that the greatest challenge to bringing about this change is the lack of awareness amongst people about ewaste management and their reluctance to give up conventional methods of ewaste disposal and the monetary gains associated with them Typically people sell their outdated broken gadgets to the neighbourhood scrap dealer who resorts to unscientific methods of recycling like melting the metals down in the open air and releasing waste and toxins into the atmosphere as well as nearby water bodies ldquoIt is impossible for us to keep a check on every consumer and what they do with their ewaste Ewaste if not disposed scientifically can lead to serious health problems by entering the food chain or polluting the atmosphere Hence it is for every individual to take it upon themselves to responsibly recycle their ewaste and prevent it from being hazardous to society at largerdquo he added It affects you Anuj Maheshwari manager marketing Eco Recycling Ltd an ewaste recycling company located at Vasai explains ldquoClients bring in their products for recycling But once they realise that they might not get as much money from recycling their goods as compared to selling their goods to a scrapdealer they take their products back In case of small commodities such as tubelights and cells where the recovery of metals is very less we are not able to give any monetary return to the clientrdquo Maheshwari explains that on the contrary his company bears the cost of recycling these items ldquoHowever in case of bigger appliances like microwaves refrigerators etc where the recovery of metals is higher we reimburse the clients with a price equivalent to that of the metals recovered Recycling centres invest money in labour machinery and travelling to scientifically recover metals from ewaste and safely dispose them You may earn some money by selling their ewaste to a scrap dealer but when the same dealer burns this hazardous waste in your vicinity thereby increasing the toxicity in the atmosphere you will be affectedrdquo he adds Recycling he explains is a also a safer way of disposing of devices that contain sensitive data like floppy discs hard drives and computers ldquoThrough advanced recycling techniques we carry out secure data destruction and issue certification for the same However this may not be the case when a person sells these devices to a scrap dealer Sensitive information could land in the wrong handsrdquo How does scientific recycling work ldquoWe recover plastic metals like iron aluminium gold silver lead phosphorous copper steel brass etc and sell them to industries that require them as raw materials Thus recycling helps preserve scarce national commodities prevents pollution and preserves the environmentrdquo he said lsquoPeople are carelessrsquo In July 2011 59 yearold Shri Kashi Vishveshwar Adhyatmic Sanskrit Mahavidyalaya KVASM at Vile Parle West became one of the first educational institutes in the city to install an ewaste bin Sunil Agarwal honorary trustee KVASM that owns the educational institute played a pivotal role in this ldquoI had a room full of nonfunctional gadgets I did not want to sell them to a scrap dealer as I was aware about the hazards Last year I came across an advertisement of a citybased recycling company and contacted them about how I could safely dispose of my ewasterdquo said Agarwal Assured that his ewaste would be recycled safely he sent his and the KVASMrsquos dysfunctional printers telephone handsets scanners fax machines tubelights watch batteries and mobile phones to the recycler After that Agarwal decided to install an ewaste bin at the Mahavidyalaya to motivate others in the locality too He also started appealing to relatives and friends to route their ewaste through a proper recycler But that doesnrsquot mean everyone has learnt ldquoA few days ago I saw a sackful of useless tubelights and CFL bulbs dumped on the pavement near Vile Parle station These contain mercury which if not disposed of scientifically are hazardous to human health It hurts to see this careless attitude of peoplerdquo he rues Peoplersquos reluctance to let go of money also bothers him ldquoThere have been times when I have requested people to leave behind their nonfunctional gadgets in the bins and they ask whether I will resell them to a scrap dealer myselfrdquo Agarwal now sends the ewaste bins to the recycler as soon as they are filled He has also obtained a disposal certificate from the recycler that states that his ewaste has been recycled scientifically Ewaste bins in societies The Imperial Twin Towers at Tardeo became one of the first housing societies in the city to install an ewaste bin in its premises in the last week of April 2012 Raj Gandhi general manager Facility Management Imperial Towers Tardeo said ldquoWhile exchanging notification emails with residents of the building on segregating dry and wet waste a foreign resident opined that a third segregation of electronic waste was also necessary and an essential part of healthy civic living This set me thinking and I instructed my team to look for a certified recycler for our complexrsquos ewasterdquo The tower management zeroed in on an authorised recycler and installed an ewaste bin in the complex lobby Circulars and emails were sent to 158odd residents of the towers urging them to dump their electronic waste in the bins for recycling Over the last two weeks residents have dumped nonfunctional keyboards mice cellphone batteries and watch batteries for recycling The tower management has also allotted a separate storeroom within the complex to accommodate bigger electrical appliances sent by residents ldquoEvery housing society in the city must install ewaste binsrdquo added Gandhi who is in the process of installing similar bins at his companyrsquos other residential and commercial sites in Kolkata and Chennai People for change A few Mumbaiites have also taken it upon themselves to educate people about the benefits of recycling ewaste Take the case of 33 yearold Pritam Khatri an export manager with an agrobased company who appealed to his office management to route their ewaste through proper recycling channels ldquoI came across an advertisement of a recycling company and decided to send my ewaste across I then started appealing to others to do the same and colleagues at my previous workplace followed suit with nonfunctional electronics like computers and printers I am also spreading the word at my current office and hope that I will be able to bring a positive change in the attitude of the people hererdquo Unlike Khatri 40 yearold Devneesh Khurana has a more personal reason for spreading the message A few years ago he developed health problems when he passed by some scrap dealers burning ewaste on the side of the road ldquoI suffered a bout of vomiting immediately after I passed the spot where toxins were being released into the air Thatrsquos when it struck to me how dangerous it can be to sell your ewaste to a scrap dealer After the incident I contacted a recycler to know how I could scientifically and safely deal with my ewasterdquo said Khurana He added ldquoSince then I have been routing my ewaste to an authorised recycler and also spreading awareness amongst people about the illeffects of handing over their ewaste to the wrong people who flout all the norms of safe disposalrdquou00a0 What classifies under EWaste gtgt IT equipment such as computers printers and keyboards gtgt Monitoring and control instruments gtgt Automatic dispensers gtgt Medical devices gtgt Consumer electronics gtgt Large and small household appliances like microwave refrigerators ACs etc gtgt Telecommunications equipments like mobiles handsets and accessories gt Electronic and electrical appliances Contact Eco Recycling Limited 40052951 Earth Sense Recycle Pvt Ltd 42014765