Mumbai top electronic waste generator in India

 India generates around 18.5 lakh MT of electronic waste annually which is likely to reach up to 30 lakh metric tonnes (MT) per year by 2018.

The estimates are according to a survey conducted by Assocham-Frost & Sullivan on the eve of World Earth Day.

The e-waste is growing at the rate of 25%, which is a major cause for concern.
According to the study, India produces nearly 18.5 lakh MT of electronic waste every year. Mumbai (1,20,000) tops the list in generating e-waste followed by Delhi-NCR (98,000) and Bangalore (92,000) says the Assocham paper. Chennai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad and Pune find place in the ladder, at 67,000, 55,000, 36,000, 32,000 and 26,000 metric tonnes per year respectively, reveals the study.

The sad part is that a mere  2.5% of India’s total e-waste gets recycled due to poor infrastructure, legislation and framework which lead to a waste of natural resources, irreparable damage to environment and health of the people working in industry. Over 95% of e-waste generated is managed by the unorganised sector and scrap dealers in this market, who dismantle the disposed products instead of recycling it.

In India, about 5 lakh child labourers between the age group of 10 and 14 are  engaged in various e-waste (electronic waste) activities, without adequate protection and safeguards in various yards and recycling workshops, said D S Rawat, Secretary General, Assocham, in a press statement.  Computer equipment accounts for almost 70% of e-waste material followed by telecommunication equipment (12%), electrical equipment (8%) and medical equipment (7%).

Electronic woes

 E-waste typically includes discarded computer monitors, motherboards, cathode ray tubes (CRT), printed circuit board (PCB), mobile phones and chargers, compact discs, headphones, white goods such as liquid crystal displays (LCD)/plasma televisions, air conditioners, refrigerators

Computer equipment accounts for almost 70% of e-waste material followed by telecommunication equipment (12%), electrical equipment (8%) and medical equipment (7%)

Other equipment, including household e-crap account for the remaining 4%