Electronic Waste Management - Clean to Green
                     
e-Waste
What is E-waste?
Electronic Waste (e-Waste) comprises of waste 
electronic/electrical goods which are not fit for their 
originally intended use. These include items such as 
computers, cellular phones, stereos, refrigerators, air 
conditioners, other consumer durables, etc.
Is e-Waste Hazardous? 
E-waste is not hazardous waste per-se. However, the 
hazardous constituents present in the e-waste 
render it hazardous when such wastes are 
dismantled and processed, since it is only at this 
stage that they pose hazard to health and 
environment. 
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Toxic constituents in e-waste
COMPONENTS                  CONSTITUENTS
 Printed circuit boards Lead & cadmium
 Cathode ray tubes (CRTs)    Lead oxide & Cadmium
 Switches & flat screen monitors Mercury
 Computer batteries Cadmium
 Capacitors and transformers Poly Chlorinated Bi-phenyls (PCB)
 Printed circuit boards, plastic Brominated Flame Retardant casings 
cable 
 Cable insulation/coating Poly Vinyl Chloride (PVC)
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Growing EEE Industry in India
 Information and telecom fastest growing industry verticals
 PC sales crossed 7.3 million units in 2007-08 growing 16%; 
installed base of over 25 million units
 Consumer electronics market growing at 13-15% annually ; 120 
million installed base of TVS
 Cellular subscriber up by 96.86% over last year; Indtalled 
base to cross 300 million by 2010
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 Recycling scenario in India
 E-waste recycling is presently concentrated 
in the informal (unorganized) sector
 No organized collection system prevails
 Operations are mostly illegal
 Processes are highly polluting
 Recycling operations engage in:
 dismantling 
 sale of dismantled parts
 valuable resource recovery 
 export of processed waste for precious metal 
recovery
  …expected to rapidly change with formal 
recyclers setting operations 
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Concerns: Informal Recycling 
 High-risk backyard operation
 Non- efficient and Non-
environmentally sound technologies
 Occupational and environmental 
hazards 
 Loss of resources due to inefficient 
processes
 Impacts vulnerable social groups- 
Women, children and mmigrant 
labourers  
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Thank you!
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