ITs a Waste

Its business as usual for Manoj, a scrap dealer reselling old used computer
equipments as he continues to peddle hard disk, RAM and other reusable material
in the grey market, making money even as hardware vendors in India launch
recycling programs for safe disposal of obsolete equipments.

Most of us using laptops and desktops are blissfully unaware of the mountain
of toxic e-waste being generated. MAIT, the apex body for hardware industry in a
2007 report said that India generates 3,30,000 metric tonnes of e-waste annually
with an additional 50,000 metric tonnes being illegally imported in India. But
what should raise hackles within the environmentalists community is the fact
that out of the total e-waste generated annually, only 19,000 metric tonnes of
this is recycled due to high refurbishing and reuse of electronics products in
the country and also due to poor recycling infrastructure. Further, MAIT
estimates that e-waste generated in India will touch 4,73,000 metric tonnes by
2011.

Unlike the west, where recycling is an organized industry in itself, e-waste
recycling in India, especially in processing, continues to be dominated by the
informal sector. This is mainly due to poor processing technologies and very
small capacities thereby contributing significantly to pollution and
environmental degradation.

A growing problem in Asia including India and China, the term e-waste
includes a variety of non-functional tech trash. Right from the date of purchase
of the product, every product is headed towards obsolescence and irrespective of
how technically advanced the device is, sooner or later it is going to turn into
a heap of discarded items. According to a 2002 study by Radha Gopalan of the
Nautilus Institute, computers depreciate at the rate of 2% a week, making them
more or less worthless in less than a year. Everyday we keep hearing users
complaining that how a slick new system has been replaced by something even more
high-tech all in a matter of few weeks.

The threat to environmental degradation looms large as India generates approximately 3,30,000 mn tonnes of e-waste annually, prompting environmentalists to call for e-waste recycling move to the organised sector

Recycling Hardware

With consumer awareness on the importance of safe recycling and
environmental consciousness on the rise, more and more companies believe it is
the right time to invest in a take back program. As one of the leading hardware
vendors in India, HP has been involved in recycling globally since 1987 and the
company has even set an aggressive new goal to recover an additional 1 bn
pounds for reuse and recycling by end 2010.

In India, the company recently extended its take back recycling program for
consumers and SMBs as well. As part of the program, customers will be able to
drop off their HP-branded technology equipment at HP service centers in
seventeen locations across nine cities in India, says Bina Raj Debur, director,
corporate marketing, HP India. The company will accept, at no additional charge,
any HP printer, scanner, fax machine, notebook or desktop PC, monitor, hand held
device or camera and associated external components such as cables, mice and
keyboards. This expansion to the consumer market completes HPs recycling
service offerings to the different market segments in which HP operates in
India. HP has had a product take-back program for corporate customers in India
since 2003, adds Debur.

The IT behemoth incidentally already runs a Planet Partners program for
enterprise consumers originally launched in India in mid 2004 and re-launched in
June 2008 with a simplified process for enterprise customers to return their HP
hardware for recycling.

Debur, however, says that the volume of returns has been low; the response
itself is aligned with that of the industry at large. And it will take a
sustained awareness campaign and education for consumers to adopt a recycling
program. In order to generate awareness about the significance of recycling
discarded hardware, the company also intends to introduce a communication
program to help consumers understand the importance of keeping the environment
safe by recycling their end-of-life IT products scientifically.

Meanwhile, other hardware vendors such as Lenovo India like its global
counterpart offers its customers an option on its website for recycling Lenovo
and IBM branded PCs. Customers can avail of the recycling facility through a
third-party vendor, who offers this service free of cost, and the products are
picked up from customers premises.

While other hardware vendors in India are content with launching recycling
programs, HCL Infosystems, the first product manufacturing company to get an ISO
14001 certification in India, has a comprehensive e-waste policy in place.
Under the e-waste policy, we ensure that the entire process of recycling is
carried out by authorized recycling agency and also that all our customers are
communicated about the e-waste disposal process. Moreover, we also have set up
an e-waste help desk for resolving any problems faced during the disposal
process, says George Paul, executive vice president, HCl Infosystems. Since the
inception of the e-waste policy, a total of 32,412 kg of e-waste was generated
in 2007 and 20,360 kg was generated in 2006. However, the recycling facility
currently is only available for enterprise users who need to contact the HCL
office, wherein the information is passed on to the recycling agency to properly
collect and dispose the e-waste.

Making the Consumer Aware

With companies chanting the Go Green mantra worldwide; countries too are
increasingly realizing the need to join the green movement and to save the
resources of the planet. Environmental awareness among consumers and
corporations has now reached the point where manufacturers are sitting up to
take notice. Corporates are increasingly appreciating the value of going green
given the wide range of benefits that accrue from prolonged usage of
environmentally friendly products and lifestyles, says Paul.

What is required at the moment is active participation from all stakeholders,
especially the consumers. Since the habits of the Indian consumers are quite
different, the end-of-life for a product is dictated by the usability of the
product rather than prescribed laws or guidelines by manufacturers. In addition
there is reluctance on the part of consumers to give away a product that they
have purchased without getting some residual value back and this leads to a lot
of products making their way to the informal sector where recycling processes
are not scientific.

Therefore, being the last and the most important link in the products chain,
the customers needs to be educated about the benefits to ensure their proactive
participation. Apart from this, India as a country has no environment laws with
respect to e-waste. It is therefore imperative to have correct environment
protection laws in place to make sure that all individuals and businesses adhere
to greener practices.

It is here that the Indian government needs to address this issue head on.
Debur adds that the recycling industry can only come up when there is assured
end of materials supply. In India this has not been the case, sadly, since most
materials go to the unorganized sector and even existing recycling units are not
getting adequate materials. An efficient recycling industry is typically a high
capital investment and RoI would take time to establish as well.

The key policy initiatives should be to create awareness about the issue
with various customer segments and to articulate their roles in the e-waste
management effort at the national level. The government also needs to play an
active role in creating the right environment for growth of the recycling
industry and to integrate the unorganized sector into the same, and assisting
capacity building in the unorganized sector, says Debur.

With the depleting environment, a major call for action is required and not
only government but all stakeholders should come forward and equally participate
for the cause of environment protection. It is also important to have correct
environment protection laws in place to make sure that all individuals and
businesses adhere to greener practices.

Stuti Das

stutid@cybermedia.co.in