E-waste Recycling: Double Standards?

After we ran a story on the e-waste recycling industry in our May 31st issue, we were flooded with complaints. Many consumers who are sensitive about the environment today have no options but to keep piling up their electronic products at home. This prompted us to follow up with the vendors to find out what they were doing. So, what started as a regular story on a new emerging segment ended up becoming full-fledged research into the promise and practice of major tech vendors operating in India.

What we found is not exactly very encouraging. We found that many of the tech vendors, who have clearly articulated policies in Individual Producer Responsibility (IPR) and were practicing that earnestly in developed markets, are not even doing a fraction of that in the Indian market. Another suprising finding was that many India-headquartered companies were better in this respect than their non-Indian counterparts. Of course, there are exceptions among both.

The Stated Positioning

A quick look at the websites of the major tech vendors is a good way to assess the seriousness of a companys IPR thrust, though a vendor may have a good policy on paper but is not practicing it on the ground.

Nevertheless, it is a good starting point. A run-through through the websites of major tech vendors reveals that most of the global MNCs have only the global takeback policies mentioned in their Indian websites. It is hard to seek information about their IPR policies and takeback programs in India. Moreover, the information is not sufficient. If consumers want to seek information, they need to indulge into serious browsing exercise (See table).

There are exceptions, though Websites of Nokia, Acer, and HCL give clear information about their recycling policies. Nokia Indias website clearly tells how a customer can recycle its obsolete product. Acers India website, on the other hand, is very India centric. HCLs website has a detailed report on the amount of e-waste generated and recycled in India.

Apples India website declares that their entire product lineMac, iPod, iPhone, iPad and accessoriesare free from toxic materials like BFRs and PVCs. But its India website has no information about its IPR and takeback policies. Similarly, HPs site mentions information only about laser printers. There is little mention of any takeback policies by Lenovo, LG, Samsung and Sharp. On the contrary, HCL, Wipro, and Zenith clearly mention information about IPR.

Missing: Action on the Ground

Despite all big claims, the implementation of IPR policies by major tech vendors does not seem to be happening. There is no separate IPR policies in India. And there is need for it because here consumer awareness is the biggest challenge. This is what most tech vendors are saying. Though tech vendors like Dell, HP, Nokia, HCL, Wipro are trying to bring in some level of awareness among the masses, trying to reach maximum number of B2B and B2C customers. Dell has launched a free laptop battery recycling program in India for consumers.

We recognize the challenges around what is primarily an unorganized sector, and that creating a level playing field for all the manufacturers may require a certain level of legislation or regulation, says Mahesh Bhalla, general manager, consumer and SMB, Dell India. Dell has designed the free laptop battery recycling program to encourage consumers to responsibly dispose their non-working laptop batteries, thereby preventing e-waste from entering landfills.

Nokia, which is proactive in taking back all kinds of phones and mobile related accessories by any manufacturer, has initiated the recycling bins placed at Nokia Care Centers and priority dealers. In addition to the recycling bins placed at Nokia care centers and priority dealers, we have also initiated an ongoing take back and recycling program in offices of various partnering corporations across India. This initiative aims at creating awareness on recycling and encouraging employees of partnering corporations to recycle their old handsets and accessories, regardless of the brand. Till date, Nokia has covered around 300 offices across India of several partner corporations ranging across various sectors, says Poonam Kaul, director, corporate communications, Nokia India.

Nokia is a clear example of multinational tech vendor who is a leader and even a trendsetter.

Similarly, HCL Infosystems has also formulated the HCL Green Bag Campaign for the recovery and recycling of e-waste.

HCL, Wipro and Nokia have the best practices in recycling e-waste, says Abhishek Pratap, senior campaigner, climate & energy at Greenpeace. Wipro recycles about 30 tonnes of e-wastes every month, which is quite good. HCL is also serious about its recycling programs and Nokia works with registered e-waste recyclers, and their collection and processing procedures follow good standards, he substantiates.

Due to the absence of strict policies on e-waste recycling in India, global MNCs are not taking the implementation seriously. In contrast, they are very particular about their IPR policies in developed countries. The governments in developed countries have issued clear guidelines to corporates and common citizens to follow their national regulations and organized management schemes for WEEE.

It seems that in India responsible e-waste management is left to the will of the tech vendors, MNCs and tech consumers. India is seeing huge growth in the usage of technology, yet there are no existing environmental laws that have a direct reference to electronic waste. Legislation for producer responsibility on e-waste has already been enforced in the EU, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and some US states. But until the government gets strict with tech vendors and mandates them to exercise clear IPR policies, tech vendors operating in India have to take this initiative.

Though with increase in consumer awareness, it is improving. Things have changed from what it used to be few years back but it has not changed the way it should have. Indian companies understand this problem better because they understand the Indian scenario better than global MNCs. Dell and HP have not done enough in this aspect. Dell claims that it began its recycling services in India in 2006 but had formally launched the recycling service in 2010, says Pratap of Greenpeace.

HP limits its recycling programs to only the major cities in India. They recycle or take back all HP products for their B2B and B2C customers in all major cities across India. But their IPR policies are not so specific to India. We support the principle of IPR across all regions that we operate in, including India. We are actively involved with industry bodies and core working groups on e-waste recycling in India, says Annukka Dickens, Environmental Manager-HP Asia-Pacific and Japan (APJ).

Can Tech Vendors Bring about Change?

In the absence of strict rules and policies on e-waste recycling in India, tech vendors are not forced to adopt e-waste policies which they adopt in developed markets. Tech vendors are adopting this as a CSR measure. Many vendors are also trying to create an awareness among the masses. Due to our sustained efforts towards awareness and education, we are seeing more progressive minded organizations taking steps to address issues of e-waste. All the collection centers of Wipro have seen increase of e-waste collections. We execute special programs for our corporate customers to involve them in responsible e-waste management, says Ashok Tripathy, general manager and business head, Wipro Systems and Technologies.

Companies are trying to generate a lot of awareness among the masses but the strategies should be implemented in a way that would lure the tech consumers and pester them to recycle their obsolete tech products. The staffs of the collection points and the service centers should be aware about the take back services, so they can convince their consumers to recycle old tech products. Kaul says, Nokia continually undertakes briefings and training of its store employees, which also emphasizes and focuses on the Nokia takeback initiatives.

Need for Legislation

If MNCs can embrace IPR policies in developed countries but not in India, this just shows that tech vendors are refraining from their responsiblity in the absence of any kind of legislation. There is need for the government to act immediately on clear environmental laws. But the vendors can not be blamed alone for not taking up the initiative. Once the government intervenes things are expected to change. The customer mindset is not the only challenge, as this still remains an unorganized sector. The entire e-waste collection and recycling also is a big hurdle in the path of e-waste management. Another major factor is the absence of e-waste handling regulations in India. There is a strong need for the government to have a concrete policy in place to tackle the present e-waste problems, says Bhattacharyya of HCL Infosystems.

Both the tech vendors and authorized e-waste recyclers are looking forward to some action from the governments end. There are not many authorized e-waste recyclers in India and the few having the right kind of technology in place are not accessible by the B2B and B2C customers. Ever since the state pollution control board has been granted authority to issue licences to e-waste recyclers, it has become easier to get a licence. But all those who have got licences do not have the right kind of technology in place.

In a way, even the tech vendors are not able to work with many e-waste recyclers, who are mostly spread across major cities only. Things do not seem to fall in line till the government takes any action and enforces clear IPR and takeback policies. Seeing the current scenario, we can only expect the tech consumers and vendors to be responsible. Seeing some of the inititaives taken by tech vendors gives us hope that in future e-waste recycling would be taken seriously by tech vendors and a huge volume of e-waste would be generated in the formal sector. But its still too early to say things will change soon.