Amity law School organized Webinar on E- Waste Management : Problems and Solutions by Dr Anwesha Borthakur, Marie Sklodowska Curie Postdoctoral Researcher at Leuven International and European Studies (LINES), KU Leuven, Belgium. Dr. Borthakur completed her Ph.D. from Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi. She has conducted her extensive research on E-Waste for more than a decade.
The basic aim of this Webinar was to educate the Participants about the concept of E-Waste Management, what are the various problems associated with it and the possible solutions to curb these problems.
She began her lecture by explaining the term E-Waste but said that E-Waste doesn’t have any globally accepted definition. As per the most accepted definition given by the Europeans Union’s WEEE Directives in 2003, E-Waste products include all useful equipment including large and small household appliances, IT, Telecommunications, Consumers, Lights, Toys, Leisure Devices, Sports Equipment, Electrical Tools, Medical Devices, etc. China, USA or European countries have formal sectors for processing these, but countries like India and South Africa have still not adopted these processes and continue with informal sectors which are the reason for large pollution in these countries. According to United Nations, 44.7 million tonnes of E-Waste was generated in 2016 and it will double up by 2050.
In India, only 5% of E-Waste is recycled by formal sectors and 95% are still depending on the informal sector;the reason behind this being that in these sectors owners employ women and children with low salary for work in factories whereas for formal industries they will need skilled people with a proper salary.Her research has found that China exported their E-Waste to our country and this is the main reason behind huge pollution in India.One major reason why we have processing by informal sectors is that we have very large population compared to other developed countries like USA or Europe.India has cities like Delhi, Hyderabad, Gurgaon, and Bangalore which are known as “electronic hubs” and everyday these cities produce a huge amount of E-Waste.
Dr Borthakur said that she had her first mobile for Rs.3000/- which was a basic instrument and it’s the oldest Nokia model. Now one can buy an android phone with maximum facilities for just Rs.5000/-. She said that if we get a higher technology instrument at cheaper price as compared to the older version, then without giving a second thought, we buy it and keep the old one at home or sell it. This way also E-Waste is generated. Companies produce new products every 6 months for increasing their sales, and this way the producers attract the customers to buy new things. She briefly explained the existing Laws and procedures in India.
Dr. Borthakur concluded her lecture by saying that in our country people should know how to use a product, how to recycle it and make this a habit to use every product up to the last extent.If we use these products with innovative ideas then these informal sectors will be closed and the environment will be cleaner. She emphasized the need to understand about what is E-Waste, what are the drawbacks of E-Waste and how India is fighting with E-Waste vis-a-vis other strong and developed countries.
It was a very interactive Session in which the Guest answered a flurry of Questions asked by the Participants.