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Our Bureau

Kolkata , Jan. 7

THE Centre for Quality Management System of Jadavpur University here is working on the development of an effective e-waste management system that will minimise the hazardous impact of inappropriate disposal of e-waste.

With a view to gathering inputs from various stakeholders in this regard, the Centre at JU is organising a one-day National Symposium on e-waste Management on February 17.

Stating this at a news conference here, Prof. Sadhan K. Ghosh, Co-ordinator, Centre for Quality Management System, said that those attending the symposium would include manufacturers of electronic equipment, Government agencies, non-government organisations, re-cyclers, researchers & academicians. The idea was to prepare a concrete action plan for effective e-waste management within the next two years.

Prof. Ghosh said that the term e-waste was being loosely applied to computers & peripherals, mobile handsets, televisions, fax machines, electronics toys, appliances, etc that were at the end of their life cycle and awaited disposal. This, he felt, would become a major issue in India in the years ahead, he said.

According to him, over 7,000 tonnes of e-waste is generated in India annually from old computers and cellular handsets alone.

Added to this is the e-waste from other condemned electronics items such as TVs, VCRs, stereos, copiers and fax machines. "As of now, such e-waste is either burnt or used for filling up land. Whatever the manner of their disposal, they pollute the land, soil or air," he said, adding that the enormity of the problem can be gauged from the fact that over 1,000 personal computers are scrapped in India every day.

"This is worrisome since, as a developing nation, the growth of electronics usage will be very high in our country. As such, the generation of e-waste will grow at a faster rate in the days ahead. We need to consider this and prepare an action plan to tackle the problem, Prof Ghosh said. In this context, he said that PC penetration in countries such as India and China has far exceeded the global average in the last decade.

According to him, different developed nations have adopted different models of e-waste management.

The national symposium was expected to provide inputs for the creation of a model that would be most appropriate for e-waste management in India, Prof Ghosh said.

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