E-Waste Recycling in Kolkata

Electronic waste or E-Waste is generated when an electronic product’s life cycle or useful life comes to an end. New technological advancements and expansions every day and the consumption-driven society have resulted in a huge amount of e-waste. This waste may include electronic items in whole or part discarded by the consumer, rejected items from the factory, salvage recycling through material recovery and disposal are considered e-waste. Common e-waste may include TVs, laptops, computers and their components, washing machines, microwaves, mobile phones, refrigerators, etc. Apart from recoverable materials such as plastic, iron, aluminum, and gold, e-waste also contains a significant concentration of substances that are hazardous to human health and the environment. Therefore even small quantities of e-waste entering the residual waste will introduce a relatively high amount of heavy metals and halogenated substances. During treatment and landfilling these pollutants find their way into the soil, water, and air. Therefore it is of critical importance that safety measures are in place during the treatment of this waste. 

Electronic Waste includes the following product categories:

 * Large household appliances 

 * Small household appliances 

 * IT and telecommunications equipment 

 * Consumer equipment 

 * Lighting equipment 

 * Electrical and electronic tools

 * Toys, leisure, and sports equipment 

 * Medical devices (except all implanted and infected products)

 * Monitoring and controlling instruments 

 * Automatic dispensers 

Studies have shown that India generates around 4 million tonnes of e-waste annually. The number is gradually increasing year after year. Metropolitan cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata, and Chennai are the major E-waste generators. These e-waste recycling units in the respective cities are not only processing their state’s e-waste but also e-waste from neighbouring smaller cities. 

 There has been growing concern in recent years about the negative effects that industry and its products have on society and the environment in which we live. As a result, the concept of sustainability, as well as the necessity to act more sustainably, has gotten a lot of attention. The consumption of materials, energy, and other resources has been expanding at an unsustainable rate due to the world’s population growth and general improvement in affluence. With challenges like global warming being more openly recognized as being influenced by human actions, there is a clear need to reform how society consumes and frequently wastes important human resources. To summarise, we must act more sustainably. There is a lack of sustainable behaviour in the manufacture, use, and disposal of electrical and electronic products. The electronics industry provides us with the devices that have become so essential to our modern way of life and yet it also represents an area where the opportunities to operate sustainably have not yet been properly realized. Most forms of electrical and electronic equipment(EEE) are characterized by several factors that encourage unsustainable behaviour, such as greater performance and lower costs with each new generation of product. Mobile phones, for example, are frequently considered fashion objects and are changed long before their intended lifetimes are up. 

With shorter product life-cycle, the use of hazardous materials and processes, and the generation of waste both during manufacture and at the end of life, EEE manufacturers have become increasingly popular and easy targets for environmental groups like Greenpeace, who have shamefully exposed the shortcomings of many large international electronics companies. There’s also been a lot of negative publicity against the manufacturers lately about the ultimate fate of their end-of-life products and the actual dumping of electrical and electronic waste in third-world countries like India. 

Kolkata, India’s eastern regional hub, houses many corporate houses and institutions and is home to 14.8 million residents, has a huge growing market for electronic products and their components and hence is also a big generation point for e-waste. The major hotspots for e-waste trade and recycling in and around Kolkata are Chandni Chowk, Manicktala, Phool Bagan, Princep Street, Rajabajar, Kadapara, Grey Street, Bondel gate, Hazra crossing, Khidderpore-Metiabruz area, Rifle range road, Keshav sen street, Girish Park, Rajarhat, Topsia Tiljala belt, and Howrah. PCB (Printed Circuit Boards) recycling, which is one of the most important tasks in the e-waste recycling industry and poses the greatest damage to the environment and employees’ health, is not done anywhere in Kolkata Metropolitan Area or West Bengal. For metal extraction, PCBs are transferred to Delhi and Moradabad. 

The West Bengal Pollution Control Board had implemented E-Waste management rules for the safe channelization and disposal of electronic waste. The rule’s most notable aspect is the introduction of Extended Producer Responsibility(EPR), which means that any producer of EEE is responsible for channeling e-waste to ensure environmentally sound management of such e-waste. It may entail establishing a take-back system, collecting centers, or both, as well as reaching out to authorized dismantlers or recyclers individually or collectively through a Producer Responsibility Organization recognized by producers or producers in their EPR Authorization. Producers of electrical and electronic equipment are now accountable for ensuring that their end-of-life items are recycled and disposed of in an environmentally acceptable manner under the EPR. They are now in charge of raising customer awareness regarding e-waste disposal and giving them the necessary information and support on how to dispose of end-of-life products. 

 These are some recognized and authorized recyclers of e-waste that include:

 1) M/s. Lubrina Recycling Pvt. Ltd. (Address – Vill – Joychandipur, P.O – Bakhrahat, P.S – Bishnupur, Dist. – 24 Parganas (S), Pin – 743377)

 2) M/s P U Steel and Electro Process Pvt. Ltd. (Address – Ruiya Industrial Complex, P.O – Patulia, Dist. – 24 Parganas(North), Pin – 700119)

 3) M/s. J.S Pigments Pvt. Ltd. (Vill. & P.O – Jarua, P.S – Polba Dist. – Hooghly, Pin – 712138)

 4) M/s. OLD N FURNITURE (Address – 323, K.P. Mondal Road, P.O. & P.S – BudgeBudge, Dist – 24 Parganas(South), Pin – 700137) 

 5) M/s. Bhanu Metal Industries (Address – Vill – Khamar, P.O – Rajarhat, P.S – Rajarhat, Dist. – 24 Parganas(North), Pin – 700135) 

The need for increased awareness is crucial for having a successful recycling sector. Given the low understanding of adverse impacts, increased efforts are required on the part of government and volunteer organizations to make this knowledge widespread. Customers (both businesses and individuals) are ignorant of the negative consequences of sending e-waste to informal recyclers and see it as just a way to make money. It is critical to educate users/e-waste creators about the dangers of improper e-waste disposal. 

Recognizing the growing concern over e-waste, government bodies have launched a variety of measures to set up e-waste management programmes in recent years. CPCB, SPCBS, Gtz, and industry organizations such as NAIT (Manufacturers Association for Information Technology) are the key bodies involved in e-waste management in India. The MoEF directs the activities of these organizations. 

 Hulladek, a city-based electronic waste management firm established in the year 2015, aims to recycle 50,000 tonnes of e-waste by the year 2025. This firm works with Kolkata Municipal Corporation and Hidco and collects e-waste from households and residential complexes. They act as Producer Responsibility Organization, collecting and channelizing e-waste on behalf of producers for environmentally sound management of such waste. They are working towards building a strong community of responsible, aware, and driven citizens who they think will be the ambassadors of a better tomorrow. Firms like these are aiming for a sustainable community and creating a community where people would be aware of the threats e-waste poses to the environment and passing on that important information to the next generation.

"I didn't have to be very old to realize that I was born in a country where people thought that streets had the alter egos of dustbins, while garbage bins were essentially looked upon as decor, only to be peered at and vandalized, but never really used. That, paired with the fact that my growing years were accentuated by the mammoth increase and popularity of electronics and the internet - the idea of Hulladek was more of an inspired vision, rather than a business." – Mr. Nandan Mall (Founder and CEO of Hulladek Recycling)