When more than 90% of the e-waste disposal is being done informally and informal players are giving more cash back facility as against the formal e-waste recyclers, it is tough to implement the e-waste 2011 policy. What are the challenges? How are big e-companies dealing with the e-waste policy?
It is not easy – neither for a recycler nor an e-consumer – to be 100% compliant of e-waste policies because of a flourishing secondary recycling market running on short term profits. Long run profits that include environmental concerns at different stages of the e-waste recycling chain, including illegal extraction of precious metals causing highly dangerous and toxic emissions must be addressed to keep the biz cycle on.
While development of appropriate framework conditions in support of the informal sector taking into account their constraints & resources are much desired, large MNCs have successfully developed broad building blocks federating capacity building at various stages of the e-waste value chain and monitoring and evaluation of the model in different baseline situations.
IBM: Take Back for Recycling
Within India, IBM has selected E-Parisaraa Pvt Ltd to manage the collection and recycling of IBM products which have become e-Waste. Neither IBM nor E-Parisaraa charge a collection or recycling fee and, depending on the technology of the product being returned, it is possible that customers may receive a reimbursement from E-Parisaraa for disposal. It is important to note that transportation of the E-Waste to collection centres is the responsibility of the asset owner. Please follow the directions provided below to return your IBM logoed computer products, peripherals and accessories for recycling.
For convenience, E-Parisaraa does offer special at-home collection services on a limited number of cases, and may do so at a charge to the customer. The company (E-Parisaraa) has its collection centres across all the four zones in India.
Some of the components of e-waste contain materials such as lead, cadmium, mercury, polychlorinated bi-phenyls (PCBs), etched chemicals, brominated flame retardants which may be hazardous in nature. Therefore, the entire procedure of collection and disposal of e-waste must be in compliance with The E waste (Management & Handling) Rules 2011 ( http://moef.nic.in/downloads/rules-and-regulations/1035e_eng.pdf) to prevent such hazardous materials from being released into the environment. The dealers should have valid Air Consent, Water Consent and Hazardous waste authorization. This authorization is given based on the competency of the recycler, infrastructure and other factors, as decided by the regulatory authorities.
IBM only deals with fully authorized collectors and recyclers. It provides customers the facility to give back IBM manufactured products at their end of life so that they are properly recycled/disposed. Historically, IBM’s asset recovery programs and its downstream partners recycle in excess of 97% of the total weight of equipment collected.
Battery Recycling and Disposal
IBM follows the compliance requirements as per The Batteries (Management & Handling) Rules 2001, amended notification on May 4, 2010. IBM recommends that users return Lithium, Lithium Ion, Lithium Ion battery packs, Sealed Lead Acid batteries, Nickel Cadmium (Ni-Cd), and Nickel Metal Hydride (Ni-MH) batteries from their IBM products to IBM’s designated collectors or other authorized collectors for recycling. It is also advised not to disassemble battery packs or assemblies prior to return except for the purposes of disconnecting batteries to prevent short circuiting. These assemblies are designed to withstand normal transportation but it is recommended that, if at all possible, battery wires be disconnected and wires and/or any other metal objects be removed from assembly. Batteries should be individually wrapped in a non-conductive material (for instance, a plastic bag) to protect against short circuiting during shipment. If the assembly shows signs of short circuiting (burned / charred wires or circuits) or if the batteries show signs of leakage (corrosion on assembly) then the units must not be shipped. Generator/Shipper is responsible for complying with all federal, state, and local laws and regulations related to the packing, labelling, manifesting or shipping of these batteries types.
Some products have Integrated Battery Backup Features (IBFs) which must be handled only by IBM authorized technicians. All other batteries may be handled by the authorized collection centres. There are two authorized vendors – E-Parisaraa Pvt Ltd and NILE Ltd for disposing of batteries. Only those batteries are disposed which are not under buy back option.
Lenovo: Product recycling programs
The WEEE marking on Lenovo products applies to India E-Waste Management & Handling Rules, 2011. Appliances are labelled in accordance with local regulations concerning waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE). These regulations determine the framework for the return and recycling of used appliances as applicable within each geography. The label is applied to various products to indicate that the product is not to be thrown away, but rather put in the established collective systems for reclaiming these end of life products. All Lenovo products sold in India comply with RoHS requirements as per 2011 rules.
Lenovo has partnered with Sims Recycling Solutions India for providing drop-off centres and environmentally sound management of end of life electronics. Sims India has obtained authorizations from the appropriate governmental agency for their processing facilities. Currently, Lenovo has audited and approved the Sims Chennai facility and processes to Lenovo’s global standards and will be used to receive and recycle initial customer returned equipment, including Lenovo smartphones, tablets, notebooks, monitors, desktops, and related PC products and Lenovo EMC and Iomega branded Network Attached Storage Devices. Lenovo is in the process of auditing two additional Sims facilities which will be used in the near future to provide improved logistics. Sims India provides 1491 points of presence throughout India.
In advance of the new e-waste regulation, Lenovo India has offered a voluntary PC Recycling Service for collecting and recycling end of life Lenovo branded products from private households (consumers) and business customers.
During the calendar year 2011, this program collected and recycled 2.12 metric tonnes of customer returned equipment. Lenovo India also recycled 143 metric tonnes of Lenovo owned equipment (for example, employee replaced equipment, channel returns) during 2010 and 30 metri
c tonnes in 2011.
Acer India: e-Waste Program
Taking the responsibility to ensure the e-business can enrich the entire environment and planet, Acer India is committed to product stewardship through the lifecycle of our electronics, and ensure compliance with e-waste rules in India.
E-waste when disposed off or recycled improperly, can cause severe environmental pollution and adversely affect the human body as they contain excess of toxic chemicals like mercury, polybrominated flame retardants, barium, lithium and PVC. The common process of burning of e-waste in informal e-waste recycling and disposal facilities releases toxic gases into the atmosphere, causing severe air pollution. Besides that, poor recycling and improper disposal of e-waste leads to a lot of pollutants such as heavy metals like cadmium, lead and persistent organic pollutants to be released into the atmosphere, which further pollutes the eco-system and causes health hazards.
Acer India has partnered with Attero, India’s leading electronic asset Management Company, recognized by NASA as one of the top nine innovators in Waste Management.
As part of this partnership Attero provides e-waste drop off centres and ensure environmentally sound management of electronics that have reached their end of life phase. Attero has obtained all the necessary authorizations from the appropriate governmental agencies for their processing facilities ensuring proper recycling and disposal of e-waste, and does not incinerate, send e-waste to landfill or export hazardous e-waste to other countries. This helps Acer to protect the environment from any hazardous consequences, which would be otherwise caused by the inappropriate waste management of e-waste.
Powered by Attero’s 360 degree reverse logistics and pan-India presence, Acer ensures a highly efficient take back and recycling program, thereby helping to avoid potential negative consequences for human health and the environment.
Compiled by Suprita Anupam