Sub Optimal E-Waste Management and the Lost Opportunity

Abstract

Electronic waste or e-waste is the waste generated from discarded and end of life electronic items. In recent times with change in lifestyle and improved purchasing capacity of people has accelerated the demand of new and improved electronic items, quick technology obsolescence, as a consequence the generation of e-waste has seen a huge rise. In year 2016, globally 93.5 tons of E-waste was generated, India, one of the leading producers of e-waste, produced 1.65 Million tones of E-waste. Apart from domestic generation, a huge chunk of global e-waste was also dumped in India. 90 % of the e-waste is handled and managed by the unorganized sector. Hence there is a dire need to develop a mechanism to handle the enormous flux of e-waste in India. In this paper the e-waste sector has been reviewed. Also a detailed analysis of the material flow in the e-waste sector has been done. Results reveal that if mismanaged, e-waste can impose huge environmental penalty, however if it is regulated and handled scientifically it can become an asset for resource recovery whose carbon footprint is 70-80 % lower than its primary production

Keywords

• E-Waste,stakeholder,policies,emission,reduction

References

1. Priyanka Kaushal, Rakesh Tyagi “Advanced simulation of biomass gasification in a fluidized bed reactor using ASPEN PLUS,” Renewable Energy,” Renewable Energy, Volume 101, pp.629-636, 2017