E-waste' refers to those electronic products that are nearing the end of their 'useful life.' E-wastes are considered dangerous, as they contain certain materials that are hazardous, depending on their condition and density like Lead, Cadmium, Mercury, Hexavalent chromium, VI Plastics including PVC Brominated flame retardants (BFR), Barium, Beryllium among others.
The hazardous content of these materials pose a threat to human health and environment. In technical terms, electronic waste is only a subset of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE). According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), any appliance using an electric power supply that has reached its end-of-life would come under WEEE. Few categories of WEEE include large household appliances, small household appliances, IT and telecommunications equipment, consumer equipment, lighting equipment, electrical and electronic tools (with the exception of large-scale stationary industrial tools), toys, leisure and sports equipment, medical devices (with the exception of all implanted and infected products), monitoring and control instruments, automatic dispensers among others.
Cities like Mumbai topped with 11,017 tonnes in 2006, Delhi with 9,730 tonnes followed by Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata and Ahmedabad producing 4,648, 4,132 4,025 and 3,287 tonnes respectively as per the Planning Commision's 11th five year plan in producing ewaste. In year 2003, e-waste worth $1.5 billion was generated in India, and the problem is only going to get bigger.
So, finally the time has come for e-waste management for waste minimisation and taking appropriate management measures to prevent the hazards and mishaps due to mismanagement of e-waste to save the environment, which has increased the requirement of qualified and trained personnel.
Growth areas
Current demand of professionals will be from environment planning, chemical, biological sciences, environment and ecology fields, legal compliance and environment consultants among others. Professionals involved in handling e-waste in industries including those at the policy, management, control and operational levels, are highly required. Besides environmental engineering, this topic should be offered in other courses at some level of details to give additional trained resources to the industry, as it is sure to catch up in the near future.
A pilot project on e-waste management has been initiated in Bangalore with the formation of the Electronic Waste Agency (EWA). Several of the industry associations — MAIT, ELCINA, TEMA, CETMA, Nasscom along with the Karnataka Pollution Control Board, ministry of environment and forests, NGOs, international research institutes such as SECO, EMPA, citizens' representatives and recyclers, are active participants in the initiative. The EWA has undertaken several initiatives including drafting legislation on e-waste, providing training to unorganised recyclers and conducting several awareness programmes on e-waste management.
The 11th five year plan (2007-2012) released by the Planning Commission, has allocated an amount of Rs 130 crores towards developing operational, legal, technology, monitoring and political frameworks for handling e-waste management.
Considering the growth of the electronic industry worldwide, increasing consumer interests to go for newer technologies and stricter legislations to manage e-waste properly, there will be growing demand for the professionals who understand how to reduce, recycle and reuse of e-waste. While this area has been largely unexplored in India, the new laws on waste management are going to change the scenario.
With companies reacting quickly to the consumer needs and creating new gadgets, the world is getting filled up with huge amounts of e-waste. This could pose a serious threat to the future generations if adequate steps are not taken to tame the exponential growth of electronic junk. The young generation needs to understand the consequences and they need to take active part in finding ways to better manage the waste that is piling up. Since companies are eager to be rated as environment-friendly and they are taking steps to fulfil their social responsibility, the existing and new facilities will need to incorporate all aspects of environmental engineering. Use of solar panels, nanotechnology and energy efficient devices will further reduce e-waste.
A lot of graduate and post-graduate courses are available today on environmental engineering, environmental science, environmental biology and PhD on environmental biology and environmental engineering, environmental studies and other courses in pollution control, environment and ecology, sustainable development, are also in demand. With increasing initiatives being taken by the central and state governments and private organisations coupled with regulatory requirements and focus on sustainable development, there is an increasing need for more qualified personnel in the industry and this will become a lucrative career option.
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