E waste management and recycling

VIVEKANANDA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY-EAST

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRONICS & COMMUNICATION

ABSTRACT

The production of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) is one of the fastest growing global

manufacturing activities. This development has resulted in an increase of waste electric and

electronic equipment (WEEE).Rapid economic growth, coupled with urbanization growing

demand for consumer goods, has increased both the conception of EEE and the production of

WEEE, which can be a source of hazardous wastes that pose a risk to the environment and to

sustainable economic growth. To address potential environmental problems that could stem from

improper of WEEE, many countries and organizations have drafted national legislation to

improve the reuse, recycling and other forms of material recovery from WEEE to reduce the

amount and types of material disposed in landfills . Recycling of waste electric and electronic

equipment is important not only to reduce the amount of waste requiring treatment, but also to

promote the recovery of valuable materials. EEE diverse and complex with respect to the

materials and components used and waste streams from the manufacturing processes.

Characterization of these wastes is of paramount importance for developing a cost-effective and

environmentally sound recycling system.

This paper offers an overview of electrical and e-waste Introduction, sources, generation of e-

waste, composition, environmental & health hazards, methods of treatment, case study etc.



CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1 INTRODUCTION OF E-WASTE

“Electronic waste” may be defined as discarded computers, mobile phones, office electronic

equipment’s, entertainment device electronics, television sets refrigerators etc. Because loads of

surplus electronics are frequently commingled (good, recyclable, and non- recyclable), several

public policy advocates apply the term “e-waste” broadly to all surplus electronics.

Management of solid waste has become a critical issue for almost all the major cities in India.

Increase in population coupled with the rapid urbanization of Indian cities, has lead to new

conception patterns. Which typically affect the waste stream through the successive addition of

new kinds of waste. Over last two decades, spectacular advances in technology and the changing

lifestyle of people has lead to an increasing rate of consumption electronic products. A trend

today is dependence on information technology. The fast rate of technological change has lead to

the rapid obsolescence rate of IT products added to the huge import of junk computers from

abroad creating dramatic scenario for solid waste management.

E-WASTE is a collective name for discarded electronic devices that enter the waste stream from

various sources. It includes electronic appliances such as televisions, personal computers,

telephones, air conditioners, cell phones, electronic toys, etc. The list of e-waste items is very

large and can be further widened if we include other electronic waste emanating from electrical

appliances such as lifts, refrigerators, washing machines, dryers, and kitchen utilities even air

planes, etc. Faster technological innovation and consequently a high obsolete rate poses a direct

challenge for its proper disposal or recycling. This problem has assumed a global dimension, of

which India is an integral and affected part. WEEE has been defined as any equipment that is

depend on electric currents or electromagnetic fields in order to work properly, including

equipment for the generation, transfer, and measurement of current.

The countries of the European Union (EU) and other developed countries to an extent have

addressed the issue of e-waste by taking policy initiatives and by adopting scientific methods of

recycling and disposal of such waste. The EU defines this new waste stream as ‘Waste Electrical

and Electronic Equipment’ (WEEE). As per its directive, the main features of the WEEE include

definition of ‘EEE’, its classification into 10 categories and its extent as per voltage rating of



1000 volts for alternating current and 1500 volts for direct current. The EEE has been further

classified into ‘components’, ‘sub-assemblies’ and ‘consumables’. Since there is no definition of

the WEEE in the environmental regulations in India, it is simply called ‘e-waste’. E-Waste

would also serve as a valuable source of secondary raw materials and the recovery and recycling

of e-waste can reduce pressure on scarce natural resources and contribute to emissions

reductions. One tonne of obsolete mobile phones contains more gold than one tonne of ore and

the picture is similar for other precious substances. There are recyclers and other industrial

sectors who are interested in taking advantage of such opportunities, which can in turn create

green jobs and support sustainable development.

1.2 POLICY ISSUES: E-WASTE HANDLING AND MANAGEMENT RULES-2011

‘E-WASTE HANDLING AND MANAGEMENT RULES-2011’ have become effective

from 1st MAY 2012. Rules would be applicable to every producer, consumer and bulk consumer

involved in manufacture, sale, and purchase and processing of electronic equipment or

components. Under these rules the producers and the bulk consumers have to recycle the E-waste

or help in channelizing the e-waste to only the authorised recyclers.

1.3 Some suggestions and issues raised by participants:

• Managing e-waste, and other kinds of waste, is essential for the transition to a low-carbon,

resource-efficient Green Economy, all the speakers emphasized.

• Formal and informal sector recyclers should work together as this would benefit both the

parties.

• Informal sector can use the recycling facilities and infrastructure of formal and organized

sector.

• Technology adoption and modernization is needed for informal sector enterprises to get

benefited from this sector.

• Informal sector needs financial and technological assistance to compete in the emerging

scenario.

• Banks should be ready to fund informal sector so that they would be financially

empowered to get required technology.



Agencies and government should help informal sector in availing best technology from

developed world.

SME e-waste recyclers in the organized sector also finding it difficult to get e-waste and

are faced with declining profit.

Government should consider incentives and financing schemes for entrepreneurs so that

more youth entrepreneurs could be attracted in to this sector.

Training programme and capacity building efforts are required.

Informal sector needs managerial and modern management training as well as training

and capacity development assistance in all aspects.



CHAPTER 2

SOURCE OF E-WASTE

Electronic waste especially computer waste is growing exponentially in volume because of

increasing demand of information technology and its application in the national growth process.

Various government department, public as well as private sectors are fast feeding old electronics

appliances such as computers, telephones, etc., into the waste stream.

• Individual household and small business

• Large business, Institutions, government house and Foreign Embassies

• PC manufacturers and retailers

• E waste from imports

• Secondary market

Fig. 2.1 Block diagram of sources of e-waste

2.1 E-WASTE FROM INDIVIDUAL HOUSHOLDS -

As far as PCs emanating from individual households are concerned, it is difficult to know the

exact quantity. Individual households are not major contributors in India. They account for 22%

of total computers in India. The rest of share, that is 78%, comes from the business sector.



2.2 E-WASTE FROM BUSINESS SECTOR-

The business sectors (government department, public or private sector, MNC offices, etc.) were

the earliest users of electronic products; today they account for 78 per cent of total installed PCs.

Hence, they are the major producers of obsolete technology in India. It is observed that the total

no. of obsolete PCs emanating from business as well as from individual households will be

around 1.38 million.

2.3 E-WASTE FROM MANUFACTORS & RETAILERS -

PCs manufacturer and retailers are next on the list of contributors to the e- waste segment in

India. The waste form this sector comprises defective IC chips, motherboards, cathode ray tubes

and other peripheral items produced during the production process. It also includes defective PCs

under guarantee procured from consumer as replacement items. It is estimated that around 1050

tons per year of waste comes from this sector.

2.4 E-WASTE FROM IMPORTS-

The biggest sources of PC scrap are imports. Huge quantities of e-waste such as monitors,

printers, keyboards, CPU’s, projectors, mobile phones, PVC wires, etc. are imported. The

computers thus imported are of all ranges, models and sizes, and functional as well as junk

materials.

2.5 SECONDARY MARKET-

These are the waste coming from the secondary market. It includes TV, computers, mobiles,

electric boards etc.



CHAPTER 3

CATEGORIES OF E-WASTE

3.1 CATEGORIES OF E-WASTE

The electrical and electronic equipment can be broadly categorized into following categories.

• Large household appliances (refrigerator, freezer, washing machine cooking appliances,

etc.)

• Small household appliances (vacuum cleaners, watches, grinders, etc.)

• Consumer equipment (TV, radio, video camera, amplifiers, etc.)

• Lightning equipment (CFL, high intensity sodium lamp, etc.)

• Electrical and electronic tools (drills, saws, sewing machine, etc.)

• Toys, leisure, and sport equipment (computer/video games, electric trains, etc.)

• Medical devices (with the exception of all implanted and infected products radiotherapy

equipment, cardiology, dialysis, nuclear medicine, etc.)

• Monitoring and control instruments (smoke detector, heating regulators, thermostat, etc.)

Automatic dispensers (for hot drinks, money, hot and cold bottles, etc.)

The study, ‘Recycling from e-waste to resources,’ was released at a combined meeting of the

bodies of UN Conventions on hazardous chemical wastes, organized by the UNEP, at Bali on



February 22. It warns developing countries, especially fast growing economies like India, China,

Brazil and South Africa, that if efforts are not made to recycle the abandoned electronic

equipment, they will be in for big environmental trouble. Apart from mobile phones, old

computers, TVs and refrigerators added to the e-waste mountain in these countries. For instance,

computer e-waste in India will have risen by five times in 2020 from the 2007 level. Discarded

refrigerators will double or even triple.

The report estimates that India’s current e-waste generation is: 2.75 lakh tonnes from TVs, over

one lakh tonnes from refrigerators, 56,300 tonnes from personal computers, 1,700 tonnes from

mobiles and 4,700 from printers. However, China’s problem from e-waste is much more than

that of India. It now generates five lakh tonnes of refrigerator waste and three lakh tonnes of PC

waste. Apart from the e-waste generated by domestic consumption, India, China and other

developing countries also have to confront the legal and illegal dumping of e-waste by western

countries, mainly the United States which is, as of now, not bound by international agreements

on hazardous wastes as it has refused to sign such treaties.



CHAPTER 4

GENERATION OF E-WASTE & ITS HAZARDS

4.1 INTERNATIONAL SCENARIO

As the fastest growing component of municipal waste across the world, it is estimated that more

than 50 MT of e-waste is generated globally every year. In other words, these would fill enough

containers on a train to go round the world once.18 However, since the markets in the West have

matured; it is expected to account for only 2 per cent of the total solid waste generated in

developed countries by 2010. Therefore, with increasing consumerism and an anticipated rise in

the sales of electronic products in the countries experiencing rapid economic and industrial

growth, the higher percentage of e-waste in municipal solid waste is going to be an issue of

serious concern.

A report of the United Nations predicted that by 2020, e-waste from old computers would jump

by 400 per cent on 2007 levels in China and by 500 per cent in India. Additionally, e-waste from

discarded mobile phones would be about seven times higher than 2007 levels and, in India, 18

times higher by 2020. Such predictions highlight the urgent need to address the problem of e-

waste in developing countries like India where the collection and management of e-waste and the

recycling process is yet to be properly regulated. According to the UN Under-Secretary General

and Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Achim Steiner,

China, India, Brazil, Mexico and others would face rising environmental damage and health

problems if e-waste recycling is left to the vagaries of the informal sector.

In Europe, the production of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) is one of the fastest

growing business sectors. In Europe the expected growth rate of WEEE is at least 3 to 5% per

year.

4.2 INDIAN SCENARIO

The report estimates that India’s current e-waste generation is:2.75 lakh tonnes from TVs, over

one lakh tonnes from refrigerators, 56,300 tonnes from personal computers, 1,700 tonnes from

mobiles and 4,700 from printers. However, China’s problem from e-waste is much more than

that of India. It now generates five lakh tonnes of refrigerator waste and three lakh tonnes of PC

waste. Apart from the e-waste generated by domestic consumption, India, China and other

developing countries also have to confront the legal and illegal dumping of e-waste by western



countries, mainly the United States which is, as of now, not bound by international agreements

on hazardous wastes as it has refused to sign such treaties.

The UNEP report also notes that global e-waste generation is growing by 40 million tonnes a

year. In 2007, more than one billion mobiles were sold in the world and the sales are set to jump

in the coming years, particularly in developing countries which are home to large populations.

The preliminary estimates suggest that total WEEE generation in India approximately 1,46, 180

tones/year which is expected to exceed 800,000 ton by 2012.

In India to date, e-waste generation is estimated to be around 0.1-0.2%, municipal waste.

Fig. 4.1 Growth of e-waste in India

4.3 STATE SCENARIO-

The top states, in order of highest contribution to WEEE, include Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh,

Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Delhi, Karnataka, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and

Punjab.

The city wise ranking of largest WEEE generators is Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai,

Kolkata, Ahmadabad, Hyderabad, Pune, Surat, and Nagpur.

This is due to the presence of a large number of Info Tech Parks & electronic products

manufacturing companies situated in these areas, which plays the main role in waste generation.



Fig. 4.2 Generations of e-waste in India

Fig. 4.3 city-wise generation of e-waste



4.4 COMPOSITION OF E-WASTE

Fig. 4.4 composition of e-waste



4.5 HAZARDS ASSOCIATED WITH E-WASTE

WEEE should not be combined with unsorted municipal waste destined for landfills because

electronic waste can contain more than 1000 different substances, many of which are toxic, such

as lead, mercury, arsenic, cadmium, selenium, and hexavalent chromium.

Health impact & hazards: 70% of the collected e-waste ends up in unreported and largely

unknown destinations.Inappropriate methods often used by the informal sector to recover

valuable materials, have heavy impacts on human health. Harmful emissions of hazardous

substances and environmental hazard mainly come from:

the product itself (if landfilled)

Lead in circuit boards or cathode ray tube (CRT) glass

Mercury in liquid crystal display (LCD) backlights

substandard processes: Dioxin formation during burning of halogenated plastics

or use of smelting processes without suitable off-gas treatment reagents used in the

recycling process: cyanide and other strong leaching acids,

nitrogen oxides (NOx) gas from leaching processes and mercury from amalgamation

E-waste as a resource and business potentials:

Sustainable management of e-waste can combat poverty and generate green jobs through

recycling, collection and processing of e-waste - and this would alsosafeguard the environment

and human health from the hazards posed by risinglevels of waste electronics.E-Waste would

also serve as a valuable source of secondary raw materials and the recovery and recycling of e-

waste can reduce pressure on scarce natural resourcesand contribute to emissions reductions.

One tonne of obsolete mobile phones contains more gold than one tonne of ore and the picture is

similar for other precious substances. There are recyclers and other industrial sectors who are

interested in taking advantage of such opportunities, which can in turn create green jobs and

support sustainable development.

Some of the toxic effects of the heavy metals are given below:

4.5.1 Lead

Lead causes damage to the central and peripheral nervous systems, blood systems, kidney and

reproductive systems in humans. The main applications of lead in computers are: glass panels



and gasket (frit) in computer monitors, and solder in printed circuit boards and other

components.

4.5.2 Cadmium

Cadmium compounds are toxic, they can bio accumulate, and they pose a risk of irreversible

effects on human health. Cadmium occurs in certain components such as surface mound devices

(SMD) chip resisters, infrared detectors, and semiconductor chips.

4.5.3 Mercury

Mercury can cause damage to various organs including the brain and kidneys. Most importantly,

the developing fates is highly susceptible through maternal exposure to mercury. Mercury is used

in thermostats, sensors, relays, switches (e.g. on printed circuit boards and in measuring

equipment), medical equipment’s, lamps, mobile phones, and in batteries.

4.5.4 Hexavalent chromium/chromium VI

Chromium VI is still used for corrosion protection of untreated and galvanized steel plates and as

a decorative or hardener for steel housing. It easily passes through all membranes and is then

absorbed---producing various toxic effects in contaminated cells.

4.5.5 Plastic including PVC

It is used in the cabling & computer housing. It contain dioxins. Reproductive and developmental

problems, immune system damage, interface with regulatory hormones.

4.6 DIFFERENT TYPES OF ON- GRID SYSTEMS

4.6.1 Hazards due to Incineration-

The incineration of brominated flame-retardants at a low temperature of 600-800 degree Celsius

may lead to the generation of extremely toxic polybrominated dioxins (PBDDs) and

polybrominated furans (PBDfs). Significant quantity of PVC is contained in e-waste, which

makes the flue gas residues and air emissions particularly dangerous.

4.6.2 Hazards due to Land filling-

It has become common knowledge that all landfills leak. Even the best “state of the art” landfills

are not completely tight throughout their lifetimes and a certain amount of chemical and metal

leaching will occur. The situation is worse for older or less stringent dump sites. Mercury will

leach when certain electronic devices, such as circuit breakers are destroyed. The same is true for

PCBs from a consider. When brominated flame retarded plastics or cadmium containing plastics

are land filled, both PBDE and the cadmium may leach into the soil and groundwater. It has been



found that significant amounts of lead ions are dissolved from broken lead containing glass, such as the

cone glass of cathode ray tubes, when mixed with acid waters which commonly occur in landfills.

4.6.3 Hazards due to recycling

Recycling of hazardous products has little environmental benefit. It simply moves the hazard into

secondary products that will have to be disposed of eventually. Unless the goal is to redesign the

product to use non-hazardous materials, such recycling is an ineffective solution. Halogenated

substance contained in e-waste, in particular brominated flame-retardants are also of concern

during the extrusion of plastics, which is a part of plastic recycling. Environmental problems

during the recycling of e-waste are not only linked to halogenated substances. A hazardous

emission into the air also result from recycling of e-waste containing heavy metals, such as lead

and cadmium. These emissions could be significantly reduced by means of pre-treatment

operation. Another problem with heavy metals and halogenated substances in untreated e-waste

occurs during the shredding process. Since most of e-waste are shredded without proper

disassembly, hazardous substances, such as PCB containing in capacitors, may be dispersed into

the recovered metals and the shredder waste.



CHAPTER 5

METHODS OF TREATMENT & DISPOSAL

5.1 LANDFILLING

In this method a ditch is dug in the soil and the soil is excavated from it. The e-waste is then

buried in the ditch and then covered by a thick layer of soil. This is one of the most widely used

methods of disposing off e-waste. The e-waste takes a lot of time to be degraded in this case as

the process of degradation in the case of landfills is very complex and take a long time.

However, disposal of e-waste by land filling is not entirely safe for the environment as certain

metals like cadmium can leach into the soil and ground water.

5.2 INCINERATION

In this process controlled and complete combustion of e-waste is carried out in which the waste

material is burned in specially designed incinerators at a high temperature (900-1000oC). The

main benefit of incineration of e-waste is the reduction of waste volume and the utilization of the

energy content of combustible materials. Some of the recycling plants remove iron from the slag

for recycling purposes. During incineration some environmentally hazardous organic substances

are converted into less hazardous compounds. The main problem with incineration is the

emission to air of substances escaping flue gas cleaning and the large amount of residues from

gas cleaning and combustion.

5.3 PYROLYSIS & GASIFICATION

Pyrolysis works on the same methodology as incineration ie, burning solid waste at high

temperatures to compose its size. Pyrolysis differs from incineration in the aspect that solid

waste is burned in the absence of oxygen.

Gasification, on the other hand, allows a low supply of oxygen to convert waste in to

combustible and non-combustible gases along with some liquids. The end material can then be

used as heat energy, and the left over waste can then be taken for land filling which will take

comparatively lesser space.



5.4 LANDFILLING & DUMPS

Landfills and dumps are used to store waste materials beneath the soil, In many causes, remnants

of waste material are not disposed even during the process of incineration, pyrolysis, and

gasification. These waste materials are transported to landfills and dumps.

Many landfills/dumps are also designed in such as way that energy releases during the process of

decomposition of e-waste is tapped and used for generating power. But landfills make soil

become polluted.

5.5 E-WASTE EXISTING MANAGEMENT PRACTICES IN INDIA

5.5.1 Plastic waste

Products made from plastics such as like casing, front panel, and rear panel. Miscellaneous parts

encased in plastics.

Management practice-The shredding & melting.

5.5.2 Printed circuit board waste

Used in the fire inhibitors & in some electronic parts.

Management practice- Desoldering & open burning to remove metals.

5.5.3 Miscellaneous waste

Chips, electronic wire, broken glass waste, copper containing waste.

Management practice – Chemical stripping & open burning & some of the waste is mixed with

the municipal solid waste.

Fig. 5.1 Block diagram of E-waste management



Before electronic products are sent to their end-of-life management, they are either in use or in

storage. The total lifespan of electronic products is equal to the amount of time they are in use

plus the period of time they are stored before their end-of-life management. We first developed

assumptions of the total lifespans of electronic products in order to estimate the number of

electronic products at end-of-life each year. Next, we developed assumptions of how long

products remain in use before being stored in order to estimate the number of products kept in

storage each year. Our lifespan assumptions are for residential products for commercial products.

The bar graphs below each table translate this information into the average age at which each

product type is sent for their end-of-life management. These tables show the cumulative

percentage of each product type ready for end-of-life management at a given age. For example,

we assume that 20 percent of mobile devices are ready for their end-of-life management when

they are two years old. When they are five years old, we assume an additional 70 percent of

mobile devices are at their end-of-life. Consequently, 20 plus 70 percent, or 90 percent of all

mobile devices in a given model year have been sent for their end-of-life management at five

years of age. The remaining 10 percent are sent for their end-of-life management five years later,

resulting in 100 percent of the products sent for their end-of-life management after ten years.

This section details the data sources used to develop the lifespan assumptions . First, we searched

for new and updated information on product lifespans. While several sources of lifespan data

were found, none were definitive.3 The most comprehensive source we located remained the

Florida DEP’s electronic products brand distribution database (2009). Although the Florida DEP

Web site was last updated in 2009, the brand distribution dataset has not been updated since

2006. for desktop CPUs, portables, hard-copy devices, and computer displays it is likely that use,

storage, and disposal patterns are different between residential and commercial sectors. As a

result, we developed separate commercial-sector lifespan assumptions for these categories.

Based on information from the International Association of Electronics Recyclers (IAER 2006),

surveys of computer reuse (Lynch 2001), personal communications with industry experts

(DuBravac 2006, Powers 2006), and assumptions about the length of time that commercial

products are held in storage, we assumed that 40 percent of commercial computers reach their

end-of-life after three years, another 40 percent after five years, and the remaining 20 percent

after seven years.



Second, we used data from literature and industry experts to develop assumptions of the period

of time that the following electronic products remain in storage before their end-of-life

management: We assumed that residential desktop CPUs, hard-copy devices, and computer

monitors are kept in use for an average of seven years before entering storage (Matthews 2003,

IAER 2006), Residential portables remain in use for six years on average before storage

(DuBravac 2005), CRT TVs are kept in use for 11 years before entering storage (DuBravac

2005), and Mouse, keyboards, flat-panel TVs, and projection TVs are not stored before their

end-of-life management.



CHAPTER 6

RECYCLING OF E-WASTE

WEEE recycling is in its infancy, and consumer recognition of the need for recycling is a critical

factor in the further expansion of this industry. More than 90% of WEEE is land-filled, and in

other countries a large fraction of WEEE waste from households ends up in waste incinerators.

Many consumers do not immediately discard or recycle unused electronics, since they think that

the products retain value. More than 70% of retired CEDs are kept in storage for 3-5 years.

However, with the rapid development of electronic technologies, the residual value of outdated

electronic devices decreases rapidly as machines and devices age. Consumers also need to be

educated about the effects of such waste on the environment and health, and learn the

significance of the recycling symbol that must appear on the packaging of such equipment.

Recycling of WEEE can be divided into three major stages.

6.1 DISASSEMBLY/DISMANTLING

Disassembly is the systematic removal of components, part, a group of parts or a subassembly

from a product (I.e. partial disassembly) or the complete disassembly of a product for a given

purpose. This is often necessary to isolate hazardous or valuable materials.

6.2 UPGRADING

WEEE can be regarded as a resource of metals, such as copper, aluminium and gold, and non-

metals. Upgrading typically includes two stages: combination and separation of metals using

mechanical/physical and metallurgical processing to prepare the materials for refining processes.

Precious metal oriented recovery techniques, such as hydrometallurgy and pyrometallurgy, are

becoming less popular whereas mechanical / physical separation of WEEE, which are easier to

operate and more environmentally sound, are becoming more prevalent. Other methods to

recover materials include incineration and refining, in which metal can be recovered after the

more combustible material has been incinerated; and chemical recycling, in which chemical

processes are used to remove precious metals such as gold and silver from printed circuit boards.

A mechanical process is an ideal for upgrading recycling WEEE because it yield full material

recovery including plastics. Sometimes products will be dismantled to remove the hazardous

components and then the remaining material will be granulating and shredded in order to remove

the recyclable raw materials such as plastic and ferrous metal. Shredded is often used to produce

small even fine-sized particles; usually below 10mm.



Many of the traditional recycling processes, such as screening, shape separation and magnetic

separation can be used for particle separation.

6.3 MATERIAL RECOVERING

The major materials in TV and computer are metals, plastics, and glass, and the rate at which

these materials can be recovered at a given materials recycling facility (MRF) will depend on

varies parameters such as the size of the facility and the target electronics products.

6.4 PRODUCT REUSE

Reuse is the environmentally preferable option for managing older electronics equipment. By

extending the useful life of old products, reuse conserves the energy and raw materials needed to

manufacture new products and doing so reduces the pollution associated with energy use and

manufacturing. Reuse also gives people who cannot afford new products access to electronic

equipment at reduced or at low cost. Almost all domestic and part of imported e-waste are reused

in following ways :-

• Direct second hand use • Use after repair or slight modification • Use of some part like monitor cabinet main board for making new appliances.

Fig. 6.1 Recycling steps of e-waste



Fig. 6.2 Block diagram of E-waste recycling



6.5 A COMPARISON OF E-WASTE RECYCLING SWITZERLAND & INDIA

Switzerland is one of the very few countries with over a decade of experience in managing e-

waste .India, on the other hand, is only now experiencing the problems that e- waste poses.

The paper aims to give the reader insight into the disposal of end-of-life appliance in both

countries, including appliance collection and the financing of recycling systems as well as the

social and environmental aspects of current practices.

Electronics waste recycling is gaining currency around the world as larger quantities of

electronics are coming into the waste stream. Managing the increasing volumes of e-waste

effectively and effectively-in cost and environmental impact-is complex task. Firstly, special

logistic requirements are necessary for collecting the e-waste. Secondly e-waste contains many

hazardous substances which are extremely dangerous to human health and the environment, and

there for requires special treatment to prevent the leakage and dissipation of toxic into the

environment. At the same time, it is a rich source of metal such as gold, silver and copper, which

can be recovered and brought back into the production cycle. This particular characteristic of e-

waste has made e-waste recycling a lucrative business in both developed as well as developing

countries. While some countries have organized system for the collection, recycling, disposal

and monitoring, other countries are still to find a solution that ensures jobs while minimizing the

negative environmental impacts of e-waste recycling.

Switzerland was chosen because it was the first country to implement an industry wide organized

system for the collection and recycling of electronic waste.

India was chosen as the other country for study because it is not only among the fastest growing

markets for the consumption of electronic appliances, but also because it has a large recycling

industry and has emerged as a major markets for old and junked computers.

6.6 MATERIAL RECOVERING

Switzerland, with one of the highest per capita incomes in the world, 2 is also among its most

technologically advanced countries. The total installed PC base in Switzerland is 3.15 million

PCs. Which translates into one PC for almost every two persons, over 99% of the household

have refrigerators and over 96% have TVs. Even though market penetration of electrical and

electronic goods is high, the market for new appliances remains strong, with annual per capita

spending on ICT products topping USS3600, the highest in the work.



6.6.1 E-WASTE MANAGEMENT POWER GRIDS (HOW TO IMPLEMENT SOLAR

ENERGY AT HOME)

Switzerland also ranks among the top countries in the world regarding environment protection.

Ranked 7th on the 2005 Environmental Sustainability Index. Switzerland is the first country in

the world to have established a formal system to manage e-waste. Even though the 68,000 tons

of e-waste collected in Switzerland in 2003. Legislation on e-waste management was introduced

into Switzerland only in 1998.

6.7 E-WASTE RECYCLING IN INDIA-

6.7.1 Background –

India, with over 1 billion people, is the second most populous country in the world. Although the

penetration of India’s market for consumer durables is substantially lower than that of developed

countries, the size of India’s market in absolute terms is larger than that of many high-income

countries. Moreover, India is one of the fastest growing economies of the world and the domestic

demand for consumer durables in India has been skyrocketing. From 1998 to 2002, there was a

53.1% increase in the sales of domestic household appliances, both large and small. The growth

in PC ownership per capita in India between 1993 and 200 was 604% compared to a world

average of 181%.

Unfortunately, economic growth and environmental protection indicators are at odds with one

another. India ranks an abysmal 101th on the 2005 Environmental Sustainability Index.

A report by a New Delhi based NGO, Toxic Links, on computer waste, estimated that in India

business and individual households make approximately 1.38 million personal computers

obsolete every year. In addition to post consumer e-waste, there is also a large quantity of e-

waste from manufacturing in the form of defective printed wiring boards, IC chips and other

components discarded in the production process.

In contrast to switzerland, where consumers pay a recycling fee, in India it is the waste collectors

who pay consumers a positive price for their obsolute appliences. The small collectors in turn

sell their collection to traders who aggregate and sort different kinds of waste and then sell it to

recyclers, who recover the metals.

The entire industry is based on a network existing among collectors, traders and recyclers, each

adding value, and creating jobs, at every point in the chain. As the volume of e-waste has grown,

a noticeable degree of specialization has emerged, with some waste processors focusing only on



e-waste. Given the low levels of initial investment required to start a collection, dismantling,

sorting or recovery business, it is attractive for small entrepreneurs to join the industry. This

recycling network is substantiated by similar results of field work by on solid waste management

in Chennai, India which found a series private – private relationship among waste pickers,

itinerant buyers, dealers, wholesalers and recycling enterprises. The main incentive for the

players is financial profit, not environmental or social awareness. Nevertheless, these trade and

recycling alliances provide employment to many groups of people. E-waste recycling has

become a profitable business, flourishing as an unorganized sector, mainly as backyard

workshops. For Delhi, study estimates the number of unskilled workers in recycling and

recovering operations to be at least 10,000 people. The biggest drawback of the current Indian

system is the uncontrolled emission of hazardous toxics that are going into the air, water and soil.

The health hazards from fumes, ashes and harmful chemicals affect not only the workers who

come into contact with the e- waste, but also the environment.

From the two case studies above, it is clear that the e-waste management systems in the two

countries are very different. Based on observation of both systems. A qualitative comparison is

done using four criteria:

E-waste per capita

Employment potential

Occupational Hazards

Emissions of Toxics

A higher value in either factor leads to a higher annual accrual of e-waste per capita. Compared

to India, Switzerland shows a higher value for per capita waste with its more wide spread use of

appliances and shorter product service lives, given the lower rate of repair and reuse.

Switzerland has a much higher annual accrual of e-waste per capita. In the year 2003, more than

9kg of e-waste per resident were taken back in Switzerland by the SWICO and S.EN.S recycling.

Using the Employment potential offered by the system as one criterion to judge the social impact

of the system, it can be seen that the Indian system generates far more jobs than the Swiss system

per tons of e-waste processed. Collection, dismantling, sorting and segregation and even metal

recovery are done manually in India. Therefore, the e-waste recycling sector, albeit informal,

employs many unskilled or semi-skilled workers.



Study show that at least 10,000 people are involved in the recycling and recovery operations in

Delhi alone. The figure would be much higher if the entire value chain of collectors, transporters

and traders were included.

Comparatively, e-waste management in Switzerland is highly mechanized, and employs far

fewer people. For example, the S.EN.S recycling system, which manages discarded household

appliances totaling over 34,000 tones (for all of Switzerland) engages 470 persons in all

including collection, transportation recycling, administration and controlling. The main reason

for this large difference in compared to the high labor costs in Switzerland.

However, when considered from the perspective of Occupational Hazard, e-waste handlers in

India are at a much higher risk than in Switzerland. One reason for this is the low level of

awareness among workers regarding the hazards of the chemicals and process they are exposed

to and the minimum protection and safety measures they are obliged to take. The other reason is

the lack of formal guidelines as well as a lax enforcement of existing environmental laws.

Collection of e-waste is of crucial importance as this determines the amount of material that is

actually available for recovery. Many collection programmes are in place but their efficiency

varies from place to place and also depends on the device. Improvement of collection rates

depends more on social and societal factors than on collection methods as such, but should be

considered when discussing innovative recycling technologies/systems. When no devices are

collected, the feed material to dismantling, preprocessing and end-processing facilities is lacking

and a recycling chain cannot be established. The collected equipment is sorted and then enters a

pre-treatment step. The aim of dismantling and pre-processing is to liberate the materials and

direct them to adequate subsequent final treatment processes. Hazardous substances have to be

removed and stored or treated safely while valuable components/materials need to be taken out

for reuse or to be directed to efficient recovery processes. This includes removal of batteries,

capacitors etc. prior to further (mechanical) pre-treatment. The batteries from the devices can be

sent to dedicated facilities for the recovery of cobalt, nickel and copper. For devices containing

ODS such as refrigerators and air-conditioners, the de-gassing step is crucial in the pre-

processing stage as the refrigerants used (CFC or HCFC in older models) need to be removed

carefully to avoid air-emissions. For CRT containing appliances (e.g. monitors and TVs)

coatings in the panel glass are usually removed as well before end-processing. LCD monitors

with mercury-containing backlights need special care too, as the backlights need to be carefully



removed before further treatment. The circuit boards present in ICT equipment and televisions

contain most of the precious and special metals as well as lead (solders) and flame retardant

containing resins. They can be removed from the devices by manual dismantling, mechanical

treatment (shredding and sorting) or a combination of both. Manual removal of the circuit boards

from telecommunication and information technologies (IT) equipment prior to shredding will

prevent losses of precious and special metals and offers advantages, especially in developing and

transition countries with rather low labour costs. Intensive mechanical preprocessing such as

shredding and automated sorting to remove circuit boards should be avoided, because significant

losses of precious and special metals can occur. One of the causes is unintended co-separation of

trace elements such as precious metals with major fractions such as ferrous, aluminium or

plastics due to incomplete liberation of the complex materials. An intermediate approach to the

removal of hazardous and valuable components can be a very coarse crushing to liberate the

components (circuit boards, batteries etc.) as a whole followed by removal of the components by

hand picking. It has to be noted that pre-processing of e-waste is not always necessary. Small,

highly complex electronic devices such as mobile phones, MP3 players etc. can (after removal of

the battery) also be treated directly by an end-processor to recover the metals. After removal of

the hazardous and other special components described above, the remainder of the ICT, cooling

or television devices can be further separated in the material output streams by manual

dismantling or mechanical shredding and (automated) sorting techniques. Fractions are usually

iron, aluminium, copper, plastic etc. It is of utmost importance that the generated output streams

meet the quality requirements of the feed materials for the end-processors. A mismatch between

the two can lead to the creation of difficult or non-recyclable fractions. Well-known examples

are the limits on copper content in fractions for iron/steel recycling, or the limits on iron, nickel

and chromium content in aluminium fractions. Furthermore, a quality mismatch can lead to the

loss of material resources. For example, aluminium would not be recovered during end-

processing when mixed with an iron/steel fraction or with a printed wiring board fraction,

iron/steel is not recovered during aluminium recycling, and copper/precious metals are not

recovered during iron/steel recycling. The challenge is to define the right priorities and find a

balance in metals recovery that considers economic and environmental impacts instead of only

trying to maximize weight based recovery rates, regardless of the substances involved. Another



aspect could be the mismatch in physical aspects of the materials, such as particle size. One

could think of shredded e-waste material while the smelters can easily take unshredded material.

The final metals recovery from output fractions after pre-treatment takes place at three main

destinations. Ferrous fractions are directed to steel plants for recovery of iron, aluminium

fractions are going to aluminium smelters, while copper/lead fractions, circuit boards and other

precious metals containing fractions are going to e.g. integrated metal smelters, which recover

precious metals, copper and other non-ferrous metals, while isolating the hazardous substances.

Both ferrous and non-ferrous smelters need to have state-of-the-art off-gas treatment in place to

deal with the organic components present in the scrap in the form of paint layers and plastic

particles or resins containing flame retardants. During smelting formation of volatile organic

compounds (VOCs), dioxins can appear and their formation and emission have to be prevented.

Alternatively, painted scrap, such as painted aluminium can be delacquered prior to smelting

using appropriate technologies with off-gas control equipment.



CONCLUSION

Electronic equipment is one of the largest known source of heavy metals and organic pollutants

in the waste stream. Without effective collection, reuse, and recycling system, highly toxic

chemicals are found in electronic appliances like lead, beryllium, mercury, cadmium chromium,

brominated flame retardant, etc. will continue to contaminate soil and ground water as well as

pollute the air, posing a threat to wildlife and people.

In India, domestic generation and imports are the two main sources of e-waste. It is impossible to

determine how much e-waste is generated in India and how much is imported. But the growing

quantities at a disastrous proportion and uncontrolled disposal practices are alarming the

situation from an environmental point of view.

Reuse and recycling of electronic equipment is a beneficial alternative than disposal as it reduces

the amount of toxic and hazardous substances that may enter the environment through disposal.



REFERENCE

[1]. pv-ewaste-recycling-final-report-choice-modelling-s.pdf/slideshare.com.

[2]. E_waste_in_india/fullreport/slideshare.com.

[3]. Facts_and_Figures_on_EWaste_and_Recycling.pdf/seminarsonly.com

[4]. Recycling_From_e-waste_to_resources.pdf/ewaste_research/seminarsonly.com

[5].E-waste scenario in India, its management and implication.SushantB.Wath.P.S.Dutt

Chakrabarti Received; 25 may 2009/Accepted: 18 Jan 2010 Journal of environmental monitoring

assessment

.

E waste management and recycling

Education

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