Before Shipping Your Electronic Wastes to India

 on my way to Bangalore, India, to participate in a workshop and seminar for India environmental professionals. One of my duties will be to give a presentation on the electronic waste (e-waste) problem and the reasons for India’s new restriction of hazardous substances (RoHS) and waste electrical and electronic waste (WEEE) rules.

Consumer electronics manufacturers, importers, collectors, and recyclers operating in India are required to apply for government authorization by July 31, 2012. I am not sure everyone fully appreciates just how significant a step India is taking.

I am currently reading Katherine Boo’s book Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity, which chronicles events in the life of a boy who lives in a Mumbai slum and makes a living as a “kabadiwala” (one who collects and sorts through trash and sells sorted materials to recyclers). He is doing this to help lift his family out of poverty.

Many “kabadiwalas” specialize in collecting scrap electronic equipment. They collect old electronics and sell it to backyard recyclers, who break it apart and extract usable components. These recyclers also crudely extract metals from old circuit boards. In the process, they contaminate themselves and the environment.

Much of the e-waste collected and recycled in India is imported from Western countries. E-waste collection and recycling has become a major industry in India. It is a major source of income for poor families and a major source of raw materials. Enacting rules that could negatively impact the poor was no small challenge. Still, India went ahead and did what it thought was the right thing.

The new rules will bar Indian consumers from dumping electronic waste into garbage bins. Waste electronics will have to be taken to government-authorized collection centers, returned to the original product manufacturer, or taken to an authorized recycler, who will properly handle, disassemble, and recycle it. Authorized recyclers will have to meet the highest global standards (e-steward and R2 standards). The new rules will also prohibit e-waste imports and exports