With the ever increasing demand for automobiles including two-wheelers in the country, India might face a major crisis in automobile and electronic waste management if appropriate steps are not taken immediately, warned experts.

Recycling of wastes is an employment-intensive multi-million dollar business but could be a environmental hazard if proper policies and regulations and R and D are not in place with immediate effect, experts attending a day-long seminar on ‘Recycling for electronic and automotive industry' organised by Indian National Academy of Engineering (INAE), said.

"The problem of automobile waste is yet to attract attention in India although the number of cars and two wheelers have increased enormously only over the last decade. India has no formal regulations regarding recyclability and disposal of ‘end of life vehicles' (ELV) and "we also do not have any infrastructure, organised system for collection, dismantling, shredding and processing auto scrap," they said, according to PTI.

India will also face a unique problem in handling millions of two and three wheelers as no other country has such a large population using them, they said.

Currently, scrapped vehicles are cut and sold by low-tech units resulting in low recoveries and environment pollution.

"It is estimated that by the year 2020, proper recycling procedures and systems can lead to recovery of over 15,00,000 tonnes of steel scrap, 180,000 tonnes aluminium and 75,000 tonnes of each of recoverable plastic and rubber," said Captain N S Mohan Ram, Advisor TVS.

The residue will be of about 25,000 tonnes to be disposed off and this will be increasing at a rate of 10 per cent per annum thereafter, Ram added.

Current volumes ELV are not attractive for entrepreneurs to come forward and therefore the experts suggested a demonstration unit for dismantling and shredding of automobiles (including two wheelers) and a Centre of excellence to study the problems with recycling at the Tamil Nadu test centre of NATRIP.

"India needs to take up research in useful applications of shredder residue as a raw material feedstock or energy resource, to minimise demand for landfills," Dr G K Sharma, Director-Technical, NATRIP said.

Ram said the current practice of cutting scrapped automobiles on roadside at low-tech establishments in locations like Mayapuri in Delhi, Lohar Chawl In Mumbai and Chintadripet in Chennai contaminate environment and also provide unhygienic working conditions with low productivity.

About the recent trend with the automobile manufacturers, the experts said "they have started building in ‘recyclability' and ‘design for ease of dismantling' into the basic design of vehicles.

The regulations in the western countries also stipulate that within six months, the manufacturers should release dismantling sequence manuals.

Elaborating on the problems of two and three wheelers in India, Ram said two wheelers constitute a large proportion of the total vehicles produced in the country.
Two wheelers and three wheelers constitute for over 75 per cent by numbers and about 40 per cent by weight of the automobiles produced.

"We have to evolve our own method in handling this waste in future through proper R and D," they said.
Meanwhile, automobile experts and scientists have recommended practical and workable legislations and regulations involving different stakeholders.

The recommendations were handed over to the Principal Scientific Advisor of Government of India Dr R Chidambaram and the Ministry of Forest and Environment yesterday by the experts of the Indian National Academy of Engineering following a day-long deliberations on `Recycling for Electronic and Automotive Industry'.

Collection centres
The recommendations said the policies and regulations and legislations for automotive sector in recycling for end-of-life vehicles (ELV) should be made suitable for Indian conditions and especially involving two and three wheelers.

"India should locate the collection centers for ELV close to area of high vehicular concentration and to metal processor units. This will lower transport costs and increase profits," they said.

Vehicle manufacturers should provide detailed dismantling information, within six months of launch of any model. International data bases on dismantling and materials should be accessed.

The last owner should be  made responsible for handing over old vehicle to the collection center and given tax relief while buying the next vehicle, the experts suggested.