A stack of discarded remote controls to be dismantled

1. Old electronic equipment is being dismantled in a street in Chandni Chowk. It is done with little or no protection from toxic chemicals

2. Circuit boards harvested from old mobile phones for resale. They can be re-used or stripped for the metals inside

3. A TV is being repaired with old parts. The recycling sector is booming owing to the city’s demand for electronic goods

4. Gadgets, put together with recycled parts, ready for sale

What is e-waste?

E-waste (electronic waste) is waste material from broken or discarded electrical or electronic appliances. It encompasses electronic devices ranging from large household items to small consumer goods. It poses a big threat to the environment wherever it is dumped.

What constitutes e-waste?

From computers to calling bells, mobile phones to MP3 players, everything can turn into e-waste. The Union ministry of environment and forest has identified 30 categories of e-waste, but the real list seems endless. Computers, laptops, printers and their parts, television sets, telephone sets, ACs, fridges, music systems, calculators, electrical items and their components…

It smells of the First World...

Yes. The problem began in countries that started large-scale use of electronic appliances much before India. But electronics is emerging as the fastest growing segment among Indian industries in recent times, both in terms of production and consumption. More and more e-waste is being produced in India with little infrastructure to manage and dispose of it.

How bad is the scene in India?

The sale of personal computers has increased more than four times in the last decade — 6.3 million units were sold in 2006-07. The sale of laptops has gone up nine times in six years and 9.3 million units of mobile phones were sold or replaced in 2006-07.

Developed countries dump their waste in India. Studies suggest that nearly 400,000 metric tonnes of e-waste is generated in India and nearly 50,000 metric tonnes of e-waste is imported to the country. Calcutta, with other metros, is considered a hot spot.

What are the hazards?

The unregulated and illegal dumping and the often crude methods that are employed to recycle e-waste — the process of all parts of a unit being taken out to repair another — leads to the problems.

Electronic and electrical equipment with their printed circuit boards, cathode ray tubes, liquid crystal displays (LCDs), mercury switches, capacitors, contain hazardous materials like mercury, lead, cadmium, chromium and chloro-fluorocarbons.

These not only affect those exposed to the waste but can also become a long-term environmental hazard by contaminating underground water.

Are there guidelines on e-waste?

Hardly. The Centre has brought out a new notification on hazardous wastes in 2008, but its provisions apply to manufacturers and bulk generators, while the e-waste industry in India is controlled by the informal sector.

How big is the problem in the city?

Quite big, Calcutta being the economic centre of eastern India. A study by the organisation Toxic Link indicated that the e-waste volume in the city may be 9,000 tonnes every year, with 3,000 tonnes contributed by computers and their peripherals.

The figures may increase exponentially with the surge in the use of electronic items. According to a study carried out jointly by the environmental science department of Calcutta University and the organisation EnGIO, computers and phones together contribute two-third of the city’s e-waste. Disposal of computers and mobile handsets, in full or in parts, occurs normally within two to four years.

What are the city hot spots?

Chandni Chowk market in central Calcutta is the biggest hub. Next come Prinsep Street, Kankurgachhi, Phoolbagan, Kadapara, Rajabazar, Ballygunge, Jadubabur bazar, Gopalnagar and parts of Howrah. However, small recycling and repairing shops are found everywhere but they are connected with markets like Chandni.

How does Calcutta manage?

There’s a surprise waiting for those looking for e-waste in the city. Much of the primary waste is repeatedly recycled. Almost every part of a gadget is taken apart, repaired if required and installed into another gadget.

Fazle Ali Molla, owner of an 8 ft x 3 ft one-man shop at Taltala, says all items in his shop are recycled. When a circuit board cannot be used any more, it is stripped for the copper and gold. Such waste is a huge source of livelihood — nearly 1,000 shops do business in e-waste in greater Calcutta, each earning between Rs 3,000 and Rs 12,000 in a month.

dumping ground

Despite the recycling, a lot of e-waste remains, especially those parts of electronic goods that cannot be reused in any way. This is dumped in several places in the city. Biltu Parui and Mukesh, who work in a Chandni Chowk shop, regularly transfer hazardous wastes broken on the footpaths there. “I collect the waste in municipal trolleys in the evening. At night I simply dump them in the Hooghly from Prinsep Ghat or pile them up to be transported in minitrucks to suburban areas, where it is used as landfill. The police and other authorities are bribed,” says Mukesh, pointing to heaps of broken, discarded picture tubes. In Phoolbagan, PVC (polyvinyl chloride) wires are burnt to extract the copper or aluminium, which is used for smelting metals. Some waste materials are sent to Ghaziabad, Noida and various pockets of Uttar Pradesh. Picture by Soumen Bhattacharjee

The recycling model challenges the perception that poverty creates pollution.

Then why isn’t Calcutta a model?

Because the recycling is done in the informal sector with complete disregard for occupational hazards. Every stage of recycling, from repairing to dismantling and burning of the units to extract precious metals, involves risk.

Little or no protection is given to the workers, exposing them to toxic chemicals. For example, tubelights are often broken down on the streets of Calcutta, which exposes the workers to high levels of mercury.

There is no identified place to dispose of such waste and the stuff that is left over after repeated recycling is dumped along with municipal waste, turning the entire waste hazardous.

What to do?

The informal sector needs to be provided with technical help. Better occupational practices have to be enforced.

Is recycling the answer?

Recycling may be a temporary solution. Chinese goods have ensured the availability of cheap goods. If prices keep falling, there will be little incentive to repair and recycle these goods.

Calcutta’s e-recycling model is working efficiently now owing to the prices of electrical and electronic goods. But in future, Calcutta and other Indian cities could encounter the problem that the European Union (EU) faces today.

So what lies ahead?

Over the years, the EU has been facing the problem of growing e-waste. In the developed world, unlike in India, an old gadget is thrown away, not picked up by the rag-picker. UK households are estimated to throw away 1 million tonnes of e-waste every year. If the recycling stops, India could face a similar problem.

Meanwhile, to combat e-waste, the EU has issued directives to recycle and reuse. So Calcutta is on the right track. Only the process needs to be regulated. Till China takes over.