E- Waste Management

What is E-Waste?

Here are a few examples of electronic waste that needs immediate e waste management solutions:

IT e-waste – Personal computers (including keyboards, monitors, mouse, cables), Printers, Scanners, mobile phones (smart and feature phones), and laptops.

Consumer e-waste – Refrigerators, washing machines, TV sets, air conditioners, and tube lights.

HOW IMPORTANT IS E-WASTE MANAGEMENT?

According to GSMAdata, nearly 66.5% of the world’s population uses phones. That’s over 5 billion people with mobile devices. On an average, an individual upgrades his phone every 3- 4 years. And this is just a subset of one type of e-waste.

Do you know where your old electronic devices were dumped? Or what happened to them? Haphazard dumping of e-waste results in contamination of the environment.

Dismantling and processing of e-waste in the informal sector releases harmful toxins. Workers in this sector – which includes children – are at a high-risk of contracting diseases because of sustained exposure to these toxins. The E-Waste Management Rules, 2016 were introduced to fill these gaps in the system; to formalise electronic waste management and to legitimise formal e-waste recyclers.

Waste management recycling involves recovering recyclable items and components to bring them back into the economy.

A few examples of good e-waste management are:

Plastic retrieved from electronic waste is recycled to make insulators, trays, and fencing posts

Recovered metal is segregated, melted and recycled into new products

Extracted mercury from e-waste is sent to specialized facilities for recovery

Other non-recyclable or non-recoverable substances are sent to authorised Treatment, Storage and Disposal Facilities (TSDF).

Saahas Zero Waste is one of the leading e-waste management companies in India. We work with major e-waste recyclers in Bangalore and Chennai to ensure safe disposal of e-waste.