Generation and Management of Electronic Waste in the City of Pune, India
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541242
research-article2014
BSTXXX10.1177/0270467614541242Bulletin of Science, Technology & SocietyBorthakur
Article
Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society
Generation and Management of
2014, Vol. 34(1-2) 43–52
© The Authors 2014
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Electronic Waste in the City of Pune, sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav
DOI: 10.1177/0270467614541242
India bst.sagepub.com
Anwesha Borthakur1
Abstract
Electronic waste (E-waste) illustrates discarded appliances that utilize electricity for their functioning. It is one of the fastest
growing waste streams across the globe. A study on the generation and management of E-waste was conducted in the city of
Pune, India, involving four different stakeholders, namely, the information technology (IT) sector, banking sector, educational
institutes, and households. All these stakeholders are listed by the Indian Ministry of Environment and Forest as major
contributors to the problem of E-waste in the country. Semistructured interviews were carried out at 4 IT companies, 10
banks, 16 educational institutes, and 50 households. Results show that the generation of E-waste with respect to computer
waste is highest at the IT sector, followed by the banking sector. Apart from a few exceptions, rudimentary management
practices were prevalent among the stakeholders. There is a lack of awareness on concerns related to E-waste. Establishing
sustainable E-waste management practices, formulation and implementation of appropriate policy initiatives, transparency in
the system, and educating people on their responsibility toward global E-waste problem are essential in order to address the
emerging concern of E-waste in India.
Keywords
e-waste, stakeholders, generation, management, IT sector, banking sector, educational institutes, households
1. Introduction economies of the world, and the domestic demand for con-
sumer durables in the country has been skyrocketing (Sinha-
Electronic waste (E-waste) is relatively a recent addition to Khetriwal, Kraeuchi, & Schwaninger, 2005). Emerging
the hazardous waste stream in the form of discarded electri- economies such as China and India are large generators of
cal and electronic equipments. It is one of the fastest growing E-waste and have the fastest growing markets for electrical
waste streams in the world. E-waste illustrates discarded and electronic equipment (Streicher-Porte et al., 2005;
appliances that utilize electricity for their functioning. Widmer, Oswald-Krapf, Sinha-Khetriwal, Schnellmann, &
E-waste is chemically and physically distinct from other Böni, 2005). Moreover, the Indian information technology
forms of municipal or industrial waste as it contains both (IT) industry has been one of the major drivers of change in
valuable and hazardous materials, which necessitate special the economy in the last two decades and has contributed sig-
handling and recycling methods to avoid environmental con- nificantly to the digital revolution experienced by the world.
tamination and detrimental human health effects (Robinson, At the same time, it is responsible for the generation of the
2009). The growth of information and telecommunications bulk of E-waste in the country (Pinto, 2008).
technology needs has brought about the exponential increase India, today, is burdened with the emergent problem of
of electrical and electronic equipments (EEEs) production E-waste, which is either internally generated or illegally
and consumption in the last two decades; however, this pro- imported, causing serious intimidations to human health
cess carries over the emerging global problems of the pro- and environment. It is imperative to note that apart from the
duction of E-waste, and the consequent contamination of domestically generated E-waste, the country has been one
environment and food chains (Frazzoli, Orisakwe, Dragone, of the main destinations of used EEEs and E-waste from
& Mantovani, 2010). The increase in the production of elec-
trical and electronic products and higher consumption and
obsolescence rate of the same leads to higher generation of 1
Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India
E-waste across the globe. Furthermore, the increasing obso-
Corresponding Author:
lescence rate of electronic products adds to the huge import Anwesha Borthakur, Centre for Studies in Science Policy, School of Social
of used electronics products (Ministry of Environment & Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi 110067, India.
Forests [MoEF], 2008). India is one of the fastest growing Email: anwesha227@gmail.com
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OECD countries with an estimated 50,000 tons of E-waste and it has the potential to serve as a model for evaluating the
imported every year (Manomaivibool, 2009). Of the issue of E-waste in the country.
E-waste imported into India, it is estimated that approxi-
mately 80% is imported from the United States, while the
2. Current E-Waste Management
remaining 20% is predominantly imported from the EU
(Skinner, Dinter, Lloyd, & Strothmann, 2010). A report by Practices in India
Toxics Link (2004) states that at the recycling units in New It is estimated that in India, 75% of electronic items are
Delhi (India) itself 70% of the total electronic waste col- stored due to uncertainty of how to manage it (Ramachandra
lected was actually exported or dumped by developed & Varghese, 2004). Electronic junks in the form of E-waste
countries as most of these countries find it financially prof- lie unattended in houses, offices, warehouses, industries,
itable to send their E-waste for reuse or recycling in devel- and so on. A pervasive view of E-waste as a commodity
oping countries. For instance, the cost of recycling of a causes a reluctance to dispose of E-waste immediately
single computer in the United States is $20 while the same (Sinha, 2008) and thus it finds secondhand and even third-
could be recycled in India for only US$2, a gross saving of hand users in the country. Usually E-waste is mixed with
US$18 if the computer is exported to India (Chatterjee & household wastes, which are eventually disposed off at
Kumar, 2009). Though India is a signatory of the “Basel landfills. As stated by Robinson (2009), currently landfill-
Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements ing is the most prominent E-waste disposal method.
of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal” under which Because E-waste items tend to go out with household waste
E-waste is also a component, it fails to stop the illegal and receive no special treatment, most E-waste is not recy-
imports into the country (Manda, 2008). However, as the cled (Ladou & Lovegrove, 2008). Nevertheless, due to the
import of E-waste is illegal and E-waste is often shipped exponential growth of E-waste in India, both in terms of
via third countries, it is unrealistic to expect exact statistics internal or domestic generation and illegal import, a signifi-
of the imported volume to India (Skinner et al., 2010). cant number of major E-waste recycling centers are emerg-
Considering the above facts, it is evident that while the ing. E-waste is recycled in Delhi, several states around
amount of E-waste generated in the country is thriving at an Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore, Pune, and Kolkata, with Delhi
alarming rate, the management practices and policy-level acting as the center of E-waste recycling in the country
initiatives are still at an embryonic stage. (Shinkuma & Managi, 2010). Recycling is growing as a
A study was conducted at the city of Pune, which is one of lucrative business in India and dominated by informal
the fastest growing cities in India and sixth largest metropo- stakeholders. E-waste recycling sector in many parts of
lis in the country (Pune Municipal Corporation [PMC], Asia remains largely unregulated (Greenpeace, 2005) and
2012), regarding the generation, management, and policy India is no exception. This is due to value in some types of
implications of E-waste among different key stakeholders. used products, mainly metal-based products and low labor
The main drivers of the economy of Pune are the following costs (Manomaivibool, 2009).
(PMC, 2012): The uncontrolled recycling of E-waste by the so-called
informal sector is the main concern in non-OECD countries
1. Auto and auto ancillary—The city is called the such as India and China (Wath, Vaidya, Dutt, & Chakrabarti,
“Detroit of India” 2010). Mostly, the entire E-waste treatment is carried out in
2. The prime higher education center—The city is an unregulated environment in the informal sector, where
called the “Oxford of the East” there is no control on emissions (MoEF, 2008). The domi-
3. Established and huge potential to further develop as nance of the informal sector can be explained by the toxic,
the IT hub of India yet efficient methods used in recycling (Skinner et al., 2010).
4. Potential to emerge as a biotechnology (BT) hub According to Chatterjee (2012), 95% of the E-waste in India
5. Growing agro and food processing industry is recycled in the nonformal sector, and 5% of the E-waste
volume is handled in formal units. The authorized E-waste
There are several reasons why Pune, the cultural, educa- recycling facilities in India capture only 3% of total E-waste
tional, and IT capital of Maharashtra, was selected for the generated; the rest makes its way to informal recycling yards
study. Pune ranks among the top 10 Indian cities that are in major cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, and Bangalore
repository of E-waste (MoEF, 2008). The Mumbai-Pune (Greenpeace, 2008). There are well-established networks of
industrial belt is one of the electronic items manufacturing waste collectors/dealers, dismantlers, and recyclers in India,
hubs of the country (Maharashtra Pollution Control Board, most of which belong to the informal sector. Each such unit
2007). Pune houses a significant number of info-tech (IT) operates in a small scale, as, for example, in the form of
parks and is one of the promising IT hubs of the country. By door-to-door waste collectors/dealers, known locally as
looking at the city profile of Pune, it could be concluded that kawariwalas (Manomaivibool, 2009). Nonformal or infor-
it has a sizable users of electronic and electrical appliances, mal units generally follow the steps such as collection of the
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E-waste from the rag pickers, disassembly of the products the Mandoli Industrial Area of Delhi, residents engage in
for their useable parts, components, modules, which have resell illegal recycling of printed circuit boards using acid bath pro-
value. Nevertheless, the sector is poorly studied with regard to cesses to recover copper and gold (Shinkuma & Managi,
its various stakeholders, its socioeconomic implications, its 2010), which is a hazardous exercise.
impacts on the environment, and the health of recycling
workers and surrounding communities. 2.2. Occupational Health and Environmental
Implications of E-Waste
2.1. Social and Economic Implications of E-Waste In the context of India, the E-waste recycling businesses
Due to the social and economic disparity in developing pose serious threats to the worker’s health and the environ-
countries such as India compared with their counterparts in ment. Various studies show that, due to the improper recy-
developed countries, many people lacks the use of new cling activities, not only the health of the workers carrying
EEEs (Wath et al., 2010). In these countries, the consider- out the recycling business is affected but also the people
able price difference between the new and old/used EEEs residing in the vicinity of the recycling sites are adversely
results in reasonably high demand for secondhand EEEs. affected. As argued by Wath et al. (2010), the whole E-waste
Unscrupulous organizations in rich countries use donations management system in India is labor intensive and most of
of obsolete electronic equipment as a loophole in the Basel the recycling and recovery operations are carried out using
Convention to export both functioning and nonfunctioning outdated technologies and processes, which leads to the
electronic equipment to countries such as India (Ladou & release of uncontrolled emission of pollutants. Mostly,
Lovegrove, 2008). Owing to the high demand for second- E-waste recycling areas are potential sites for uncontrolled
hand EEEs and low initial investment required for starting a and unmonitored air, water, and soil pollution. A major prob-
collection, dismantling, sorting, or a recovery facility lem in the Indian context is the large involvement of illiterate
(Sinha, 2004), E-waste recycling business is becoming very and poor in recycling businesses and their complete unaware-
attractive to small entrepreneurs. For E-waste recycling ness and ignorance to the threats to their health and the envi-
facility owners in India, rather than creating environmental ronment as a whole.
or social awareness, the financial profit is the main incentive Unregulated E-waste recycling activities generate work-
(Wath et al., 2010). Consequently, a significant number of place and environmental contamination by releasing a wide
urban poor are involved in the E-waste recycling business array of chemicals ranging from heavy metals such as lead,
with least knowledge of the harmful effects of improper mercury, cadmium, and hexavalent chromium to persistent
E-waste recycling activities on their health and environ- organic pollutants such as polychlorinated biphenyls and
ment. The involvement of women and children in the recy- polybrominated diphenyl ethers. Numerous researchers have
cling activities further exaggerate the problem related to demonstrated that toxic metals and polyhalogenated organ-
E-waste management in India. ics including polychlorinated biphenyls and polybrominated
On the other hand, the E-waste recycling units in India diphenyl ethers can be released from E-waste, posing seri-
have great potential for generating employment. Recovering ous risks of harm to humans and the environment (Kiddee,
reusable machines, components, and materials from dis- Naidu, & Wong, 2013). A study carried out by Tsydenova
carded E-waste acts as a source of income for poor people and Bengtsson (2011) reveals that rudimentary recycling
(Wath et al., 2010). An entire new economic sector revolving techniques coupled with the amounts of E-waste processed
around trading, repairing, and regaining materials from have already resulted in adverse environmental and human
redundant electronic devices is growing in the country health impacts in countries such as China and India. For
(Streicher-Porte et al., 2005). As collection, dismantling, instance, in these countries metals from the E-waste are dis-
sorting-segregation, and recovery of E-waste are mostly solved in strong acid solutions and subsequently recovered,
done manually, in India this business provides significant plastic is manually removed from E-waste and mechanically
employment opportunities (Baud, Grafakos, Hordijk, & shredded, and open burning of unwanted scrap and wastes is
Post, 2001) in several cities, especially to the urban and illit- also a common practice. Such practices are carried out with-
erate poor. It has been estimated that in Delhi alone, the num- out any health and safety measures for the workers.
ber of unskilled workers involved in recycling and recovering Furthermore, the workers and local residents are exposed to
operations are at least 10,000 people (EMPA, 2004). Thus, the chemicals through inhalation, dust ingestion, dermal
the E-waste recycling sector opens job opportunities and exposure, and dietary intake.
source of income, which also needs to be understood and
addressed while framing the E-waste management system
3. Methodology
for India (Wath et al., 2010). Nevertheless, although it pro-
vides a living for the urban and rural poor, it causes severe The basic objective of the study is to assess the current gen-
risks to humans and the local environment. For instance, in eration, management, and policy initiatives of E-waste by
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Figure 1. Different stakeholders involved in the E-waste flow.
Source. Borthakur (2012).
various key stakeholders in the city of Pune. It has been 3.1.2. Banking Sector
observed that the literature on E-waste in India has been
limited to reviews on the current status of E-waste recy- Public sector banks
cling/disposal, estimation of generation quantities, and
benchmarking of E-waste management systems that exist 1. The Union Bank of India
in the EU with focus on India (Dwivedy & Mittal, 2012). 2. The Central Bank of India
Though there have been several studies documenting the 3. Corporation Bank
major stakeholders in the E-waste trade value chain includ- 4. IDBI Bank
ing the assessment of environmental, social, and health 5. Punjab National Bank
impacts from their disposal, there are no empirical research
investigating the repercussion of the disposal behavioral Private sector banks
patterns of the concerned stakeholders in the E-waste trade
chain that exist in India (Dwivedy & Mittal, 2012). This 1. ICICI Bank
study attempts to fill up certain parts of this gap by per- 2. Axis Bank
forming an empirical study in the city of Pune on the gen- 3. The South Indian Bank
eration and disposal behavior of various stakeholders 4. Bharati Sahakari Bank Limited
related to E-waste (see Figure 1). 5. The Shamrao Vithal Co-operative Bank
The following stakeholders were considered for the pur-
pose of the study since all these stakeholders are listed by 3.1.3. Educational Institutes Under Bharati Vidyapeeth University
MoEF (2008) as major contributors to the problem of
E-waste in India. 1. Institute of Environment Education and Research
2. College of Architecture
3. College of Engineering
3.1. Stakeholders 4. College of Engineering for Women
3.1.1. Information Technology Sector 5. Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Information
Technology
1. Tata Technologies Limited (TTL) 6. Medical College
2. Tech Mahindra 7. Dental College
3. Tele Atlas Kalyani Ind Pvt. Ltd. 8. School of Optometry
4. Polysmart Technologies Pvt. Ltd. 9. Amplify Mindware
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10. Institute of Hotel Management and Catering Input = Output, where Input (t) = Mass/number of pieces of
Technology equipment bought by the customer (t)
11. College of Physical Education
12. Fine Arts College Output (t) = E-waste generated (t)
13. Homeopathy College
14. Ayurvedic College
15. Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Biotechnology 4. Results and Discussion
16. Nursing College 4.1. Information Technology Sector
3.1.4. Households. Housing societies at two different areas of The first software technology park in India was set up in
Pune city, namely, Katraj and Aundh, were considered. Fifty Pune (PMC, 2012). IT giants such as Tata Consultancy
households were considered for the study. Service (TCS), Wipro, Infosys, Tata Technologies Limited
(TTL), Tech Mahindra, Cognizant, and so on, have a signifi-
cant presence in the city. During the past 8 years, the IT busi-
3.2. Research Methods ness in Pune has grown from Rs. 250 to Rs. 6,500 crores
Semistructured interviews were carried out with the stake- (PMC, 2012). Three areas, noted for their professional train-
holders to assess the issues regarding the generation and ing setups, have merged in the last two decades: management
management of E-waste in the city. These interviews were education, IT and computer education, and engineering. This
conducted with representatives from all the sectors men- course of events helped Pune emerge as an IT and biotech-
tioned above. Initially basic questionnaires were formulated nology center in the country. For the purpose of the study,
for different stakeholders as per the requirements of the spe- four IT companies are considered. These include two IT
cific stakeholders (see the appendix). Semistructured inter- giants, TTL and Tech Mahindra, and two small scale IT ser-
views were selected to collect data because it provides the vice providing companies, Tele Atlas Pvt. Ltd and Polysmart
interviewer flexibility to add, modify, and omit questions Technologies.
during the time of the interview. As involvement of diverse
stakeholders in E-waste management in India is a compara- 4.1.1. Generation of E-Waste at IT Sector. It is evident from the
tively unexplored area of research, such kind of flexibility is study that the generation of E-waste with respect to computer
needed for gathering reliable and purposeful data. waste is reasonably high at the IT sector, with 97% to 99%
Electronic waste with respect to “computer waste” was employees of the companies considered are provided with
assessed for IT sector, banking sector, and educational insti- computers in this sector. The average stands at 98.25%. Fur-
tutes, whereas for households all other electronic goods in thermore, hardware are very frequently replaced in this sec-
use were considered. The study was confined to “computer tor (especially in bigger companies such as TTL and Tech
waste” as the representative of E-waste at the first three Mahindra) because of the introduction of newer and modi-
stakeholders because it was the most prominent waste in fied versioned software every few months as the companies
those three sectors. Moreover, in India, the per capita com- always prefer the latest software version. Mostly, older hard-
puter ownership between 1993 and 2000 has grown by 604% ware is not compatible with new software.
as against the world average of 181% during the same period
(Sinha-Khetriwal et al., 2005). The computer obsolesce rate 4.1.2. Management of E-Waste at IT Sector. TTL and Tech
is observed to be reasonably high in the country. The estima- Mahindra are two of the leading IT companies in India today.
tion of generation of E-waste is calculated according to the At TTL, the computers and related hardware are recycled
United Nations Environment Programme’s Inventory after 4 to 5 years of operation. If some hardware failure
Assessment Manual on E-waste (Volume I; 2007). As occurs, the hardware is replaced by the computer vendor as
described in the manual, the generation of E-waste is defined per the agreement under the annual maintenance contract
by the consumption of electrical and electronic equipment (AMC). The vendor is responsible for the maintenance of the
(EEE) as both of them are directly proportional. In the model system as long as it is in use. Computers are discarded as per
of “Phasewise Life Cycle of Electrical and Electronic the directives for E-waste handling. The company follows
Equipment,” mass/number of pieces of equipment bought the TATA E-waste Management Policy from its environmen-
and used by the consumers is considered. After a certain time tal policy, to manage E-waste in an environmental friendly
span (average life time, t) the end-of-life goods are passed on manner. This policy guides the company in the way it han-
for collection. It is assumed that in the consumption period dles, disposes of outdated electronic and electrical equip-
no losses occur and no conversion of material takes place. ments, and orders new ones. Disposal is carried out only
The model does not consider the servicing of the equipment, through E-waste handlers/recyclers authorized by Ministry
the replacement of parts, and so on. It has been assumed that of Environment and Forest and State Pollution Control
the EEE purchased by a consumer will end up being E-waste Boards in India at specified cost. Nevertheless, accessibility
after a specific period of time. Therefore, to the E-waste management policy of the company is
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exceedingly restricted. As a part of the introduction program, system all over, the amount of computers operating in banks
employees are introduced to the E-waste Management Pol- has been increasing rapidly. Although core and Internet
icy of the company and recent changes of the same. banking system has made life easier, it has, at the same time,
At Tech Mahindra, computer and related hardware are contributed significantly to the E-waste stream. Due to lack
discarded usually after 4 to 5 years of operation. Tech of awareness on apposite E-waste management practices,
Mahindra Technical Procurement Team have the approved E-waste generation is increasing with every passing day.
vendor(s) for handling E-waste/Recycling Process, where
the vendors would complete the full process of segregating 4.2.2. Management of E-Waste at Banking Sector. Private and
E-waste along with considering the environmental impacts/ public sector banks are one of the largest contributors of
consideration. The methods obtained for E-waste treatment E-waste. Today in a city like Pune, a number of branches of
are accepted industry standards for E-waste recycling pro- the same bank are present at different places and all these
cesses. An agreement would be signed between Tech branches contribute significantly to the E-waste stream. Just
Mahindra and the vendor before handing over the E-waste, after the IT sector, these banks are ranked second in the gen-
which contains the nondisclosing confidentiality of the infor- eration of E-waste among all the four stakeholders consid-
mation along with using the complete process defined by the ered for the study purpose. HCL, Wipro, Zenith, and HP are
vendor. The Technical Procurement group identifies and inti- the major dealers of the banks, from which a majority of the
mates the method of disposal, negotiates with vendors (if banks purchase their computers and related hardware. Most
required), and provides the vendor with details through of the banks are tied up with these dealers for supply and
which the asset will be disposed. The company maintains an disposal of computers through AMCs.
AMC with the vendors. All CD/DVD and floppies, which are Among the range of banks considered for the study pur-
no longer required or are damaged, are disposed of by break- pose, Corporation Bank and ICICI Bank have a well-defined
ing it into a minimum of two parts. Back-up tapes are dis- system for managing their E-waste. Corporation Bank has a
posed using a shredder once it is found damaged or not policy that says that no obsolete computers or related hard-
suitable for further use. Collection and disposal of such ware should be kept stored at various branches. Instead, the
media is ensured by the Facilities Management Group. All dealer who supplies the computers at the bank should take
intermediate information copied onto the CD, DVD, floppy, the full responsibility of their disposal and take the obsolete
or USB drive (could be for transfer of data between networks computers away. No computer of the bank is sold to scrap
or transfer of data between sites) is deleted or disposed after vendors. The bank has a special department for handling of
the purpose for which it was transferred is served. Data cop- waste and under that has an environmental manager who
ied onto CD, DVD, floppy, or USB drive in case of transfer looks after the issues of E-waste. The bank has an E-waste
between locations are encrypted. A record is maintained by management policy as a part of its environmental initiatives.
the location Office In-Charge for deletion or disposal of CD, The bank avoids the use of floppies, CDs, and so on. All
DVD, and floppy. Thus, in the company a significant amount works and communications inside the bank are generally car-
of waste CDs, DVDs, and floppies are generated. Tech ried out via emails in order to reduce the amount of E-waste
Mahindra has an E-waste Management Policy. The employ- generated. Likewise ICICI Bank has a “Red Tag” system
ees are made aware on the issues related to E-waste and rel- through which obsolete computers are first marked and the
evant policies at various occasions. disposal procedure is decided. Environmental audit is carried
The average life span of computers at small-scale IT ser- out to evaluate the performance of the computers. The bank
vice providing companies, such as Tele Atlas and Polysmart has its own E-waste management policy. Generally it follows
Technologies, is between 5 and 7 years. However, these the “5 S” principle of management, which encourages main-
companies do not follow any definite E-waste management taining an efficient and effective workplace and office. “5 S”
policy and hence lack a definite process of disposal. They refers to the five structured programs using the Japanese
discard the computers mostly by just selling to the recyclers principles of seiri, seiton, seison, seiketsu, and shitsuke,
or scrap vendors. No AMC is maintained in these commonly referred to as sort, set, shine, standardize, and
companies. sustain, respectively. According to the policy of Punjab
National Bank, all computers and related hardware comes
under SFF (Safe Feature and Furniture). The obsolete com-
4.2. Banking Sector
puters are auctioned from time to time. The central office of
4.2.1. Generation of E-Waste at Banking Sector. The percent- Union Bank of India, Pawai, Mumbai, has constructed an
age of employees provided with personal computers at vari- E-waste management policy for all its branches. Conditions
ous branches of five public and private sector banks is are given by the office for safe and responsible disposal of
considered for the study purpose. It has been observed that E-waste.
98.30% employees of ICICI bank are provided with personal In contrast, a popular private sector bank such as Axis
computers, followed by IDBI bank with 92.10%. The aver- bank seemed to be negligent on the issues related to E-waste.
age stands at 84.77%. Today, with computerized banking There is a lack of transparency observed at various banks.
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The largest public sector bank in India, that is, The State The discarded computers are stored in huge junk at some
Bank of India, does not provide any information on E-waste institutes, such as College of Engineering, College of
to outsiders. Same with the case of popular private sector Engineering for Women, Medical College, Institute of Hotel
bank HDFC Bank. Also conflicting information on the gen- Management and Catering Technology, and Homeopathy
eration and management of E-waste was acquired from dif- College. The medical college complained about computers that
ferent branches of the same bank and from the same branch are lying useless for the past 15 to 20 years because of lack of
of the bank when visited twice. knowledge and initiatives on their disposal. As told, some insti-
tutes are not able to sell the faulty computers to scrap vendors
as they have to go through a lot of paperwork with higher
4.3. Educational Institutes
authority and the process is rather extensive. The College of
Pune is the educational and research capital of the country. Engineering has donated some computers to the school situated
Pune, with more than a 100 educational institutes and 9 uni- at the campus, and the College of Engineering for Women is
versities, has rightly acquired a reputation as “The Oxford of said to have initiated the process of disposal although the final
the East” (PMC, 2012). Under the educational institutes, the stage is yet to arrive. Other computer-related wastes, such as
various institutes under one of the premier and largest uni- CD, floppy, DVD, and so on, are disposed by just throwing in
versities in the city, Bharati Vidyapeeth University, Katraj, the dustbins along with other regular waste. According to
Pune, are considered. Under the umbrella of Bharati Computronics, they look after the computers of these institutes
Vidyapeeth University, all these institutes provide different only after the warranty period of the computers. Till the war-
kinds of education, from medical and engineering to hotel ranty period, the company whose computers are purchased
management and environment. In order to have a broader (e.g., HCL, HP) carries out the maintenance procedure.
prospective of different sets of disciplines, all these institutes There is conflicting information about the responsibility
were considered for the purpose of the study. of disposal of computers. Some institutes stated that the
responsibility of disposal is of Computronics under AMC.
4.3.1. Generation of E-Waste at Educational Institutes. Sixteen However, Computronics clarified that they are responsible
institutes under Bharati Vidyapeeth University, Pune, are only for the maintenance and up-gradation of the computers
considered for the purpose of the study. The number of com- at the institutes and that they are not responsible for the dis-
puters and hence the generation of E-waste with respect to posal of computers.
computer waste is maximum at the College of Engineering Computronics provides one or two maintenance engi-
followed by Amplify Mindware and College of Engineering neers at the university campus. Apart from a few institutes,
for Women. However, percent occupants of computers, that such as Institute of Environmental Education and Research,
is, number of computers per 100 persons, is observed to be College of Engineering, College of Engineering for Women,
the highest at Amplify Mindware, an IT education institute, and Amplify Mindware, very low level of awareness on
with 71.09%, followed by College of Engineering for Women computer waste was observed among other institutes.
and Institute of Environment Education and Research. The
average percent occupant of computers stands at 22.08%.
Institutes providing IT and engineering education are the
4.4. Households
larger generator of E-waste. Many of these institutes pur- Semistructured interviews were conducted at Aundh and
chase new modified versions of computers frequently; how- Katraj areas of Pune. The Katraj area comprises mainly
ever, no measures have been taken to deal with the obsolete lower and lower middle income group people, whereas the
computers. Aundh area mainly comprises upper middle income group
people. Fifty households from those two areas were surveyed
4.3.2. Management of E-Waste at Educational Institutes. Apart for the study purpose. Twenty-five households were consid-
from Institute of Environmental Education and Research, all ered for each area.
other institutes purchase the computers and related hardware
from a company named “Computronics.” Institute of Envi- 4.4.1. Generation of E-Waste at Households. The study consid-
ronment Education and Research purchases the computers ers the various electronic and electrical equipments in use at
from a company named “Mek Graphic Computer.” College the household level. It has been observed that mobile phones
of Engineering is the largest purchaser from Computronics. and television sets are the most widely used electronic equip-
Computronics is the only company responsible for the main- ments at the household level, present at all the households.
tenance and up-gradation of the computers (even the smallest However, utilization of some types of electronic equipments
parts of the computer such as mouse and keyboard) at almost at the Aundh and Katraj areas differ significantly. For
all the institutes (apart from Amplify Mindware and Institute instance, unlike Katraj, electronic equipments such as air
of Environment Education and Research) under AMC. How- conditioning appliances, vacuum cleaner, and video camera
ever, Computronics is not responsible for the disposal of are extensively observed at Aundh. The average percentage
computers. of computer occupants is 78%.
Downloaded from bst.sagepub.com by guest on October 11, 201550 Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society 34(1-2)
4.4.2. Management of E-Waste at Households. Common elec- practices obtained in the public and private sector banks,
tronic equipments from both the areas include computers and several different terms and concepts have come up during
laptops, television sets, radio sets, refrigerators, mobile the course of the study. These include terms and concepts
phones, and so on. Although the amount and types of elec- such as SFF (Safe Feature and Furniture), Red Tag, “5 S”
tronic and electrical goods in use in the two areas differs in Principle, and so on. These are the measures taken up by the
quantity, the management practices obtained by both the banks for safe and responsible disposal of computers.
areas were relatively the same. Electronic equipments are Auctioning is also carried out as a management measure.
hardly disposed off; normally older ones are replaced by the However, most of the banks are observed to be negligent
new ones or older versions with new versions. Recently in about their E-waste. Large piles of waste electronic goods
many houses, desktops are being replaced by laptops and are stored at various branches of several banks. There is an
CRT screen televisions with LCD screen televisions. This urgent need for proper E-waste management plans in these
tendency is more in the Aundh area as compared with the banks. Due to lack of suitable management practices, large
Katraj area. With lots of exchange offers coming up, espe- chunks of computer wastes are lying unattended at various
cially during the festive seasons, people tend to exchange the educational institutes. For instance, Medical College of
older goods with new ones at a faster rate. Frequent changing Bharati Vidyapeeth University has complained about com-
of mobile phones is observed at both the areas although the puters that are lying useless for the past 15 to 20 years. At
disposal rate of the same is negligible. Unused mobile phones the household level, people are observed to be in a state of
are still stored at most of the houses. Some of the members perplexity and uncertainty regarding their obsolete elec-
of the households gifted their old EEEs including mobile tronic goods. Waste electronic goods are lying futile at most
phones to relatives or friends. Obsolete older hardware such of the houses due to lack of knowledge about their appro-
as mouse and keyboards are lying futile in many households priate disposal.
because of lack of knowledge about their proper disposal. There is a lack of transparency experienced among differ-
Other computer-related wastes such as floppy, CD, and so on ent stakeholders during the study period. Even after continu-
are discarded by just throwing in the dustbins along with ous approach, some of the leading IT companies and popular
regular municipal solid waste. Lack of knowledge about public and private sector banks did not reply back. These
proper utilization of electronic equipments and appropriate companies and banks were observed to be decidedly reluc-
management of E-waste was observed in both the areas. tant to disclose their generation and management practices of
E-waste. The awareness on the issues related to E-waste was
observed to be inadequate and unsatisfactory at all the four
5. Summary and Conclusions stakeholders considered.
During the course of the study, the quantity of E-waste, Considering the generation and management practices
with reference to computer waste, generated at the IT sector among the four stakeholders, it could be concluded that there
was found to be the highest. The main reason for this, as is an urgent need for legislative and market-based policy ini-
found in the study, is the frequent replacement and discard- tiatives in order to handle the issues related to E-waste in
ing of computers in this sector. With the introduction of India. Only through the formulation and implementation of
new and modified versions of software every few months, proper policy measures can the ever-rising problem of
the substitution and desertion rate is reasonably high in this E-waste be addressed appropriately.
sector. Most of the times, the older hardware is not compat- The need of the hour is to introduce separate disposal
ible with the new software, and consequently, companies facility for E-waste, especially in cities such as Pune, which
are forced to opt for newer hardware. This finding is sup- will encourage and facilitate responsible disposal. The local
ported by the study of a premier NGO in the field of E-waste government of Pune is yet to satisfactorily handle the issue
called “Toxics Link” (2004). In their study, it was con- of E-waste. Only recently, it has started taking some initia-
cluded that the useful life span of a computer has come tive to undertake this issue. PMC is still inefficiently
down to average 2 years due to improved versions being equipped to deal with the problem of E-waste in the city.
launched every 18 months. Large users upgrade employee Replying to a “Right to Information” application by Shankar
computers regularly. For instance, TTL, with around 3,920 Kalmani (founder chairman of NGO “Sarathi”), PMC replied
computer user employees, replaces the computers every 4 that it has done nothing, nor does it have plans to counter the
to 5 years. The banking sector stands second in E-waste E-waste menace (“Pune seems content with e-waste mis-
(with respect to computer waste) generation followed by management,” 2011). All the initiatives said to be taken by
households and educational institutes. PMC are literally still on paper. At present E-waste is col-
Regarding the management practices, IT industries such lected in the depot at Uruli Devachi, which is the main land-
as TTL and Tech Mahindra have their own E-waste man- fill site for solid waste dumping (“Pune seems content with
agement policies. These policies guide the companies in the e-waste mismanagement,” 2011). An integrated approach
way they handle, dispose of outdated electronic and electri- involving proper alliance among different stakeholders such
cal equipments, and order new ones. As of the management as public and private bodies, R&D institutions, and general
Downloaded from bst.sagepub.com by guest on October 11, 2015Borthakur 51
people is exceedingly essential for sustainable E-waste man- j. Does your bank have any E-waste management
agement practices. policy?
k. If you have, then do you face any difficulties while
implementing that policy?
Appendix
l. Have you ever conducted any awareness program for
Questionnaire for IT Industries your employees regarding E-waste management?
Name of the industry:
Type of the industry: Questionnaire for Educational Institutes
Address: Name of the institute:
Designation of the person interviewed: Type of the institute:
Address:
a) How many employees are there at the company? Designation of the person interviewed:
b) Is each and every employee provided with a personal
computer in the company? a. How many students and staffs are there at your
c) Who is responsible for maintenance of those comput- institute?
ers? Is it the dealer itself or somebody else? b. How many computers are there at your institute?
d) After how many years of operation generally the c. Who is responsible for the maintenance and up-gra-
computers are discarded? dation of the computers?
e) How do you discard the computers? d. Usually after how many years of operation do you
f) Do you discard them by giving them to the scrap ven- discard the computers?
dors at a certain cost? e. How to you dispose the computers and related
g) Do you consider what happens to the computers once hardware?
the company discarded them? f. How do you discard unwanted CDs, DVDs, and
h) Does your company have any E-waste management floppies?
policy? g. Does your institute get any monetary benefit while
i) If you have, then do you face any difficulties while discarding the computers?
implementing that policy? h. Are you facing any problem regarding disposal of
j) Have you ever conducted any awareness program for computers?
your employees on the issues related to E-waste? i. Have you ever conducted any E-waste awareness pro-
gram for the students?
Questionnaire for Public and Private Sector Banks
Questionnaire for Households
Name of the bank:
Type of the bank: Name of the person:
Address: Address:
Designation of the person interviewed: Age:
Occupation:
a. How many employees are there at your branch? Income (monthly):
b. Of the total employees, approximately how many are
provided with personal computer at your bank? a. Which are the electronic equipments that you have at
c. Who is responsible for maintenance of those comput- your home?
ers? Is it the dealer itself or somebody else? b. Have you ever discarded any such equipment?
d. After how many years generally computers are c. What do you do when any of the electronic equip-
discarded? ment becomes obsolete?
e. How do you discard the computers? d. How do you discard the unwanted CDs, floppies, etc?
f. Do you discard them by giving them to scrap vendors e. If you exchange any electrical equipment, how often
at a certain cost? do you do that?
g. Does the same dealer is responsible for providing f. Are you aware of the facilities or services provided by
computers to all the branches of your bank? the scrap vendor?
h. Is the procedure for disposal of the computers same g. Are you aware of the problems related to electronic
for all branches of your bank in Pune? waste?
i. Do you face any problem while disposing or discard- h. Are you facing any problem with the obsolete elec-
ing the computers? tronic equipments at your home?
Downloaded from bst.sagepub.com by guest on October 11, 201552 Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society 34(1-2)
Declaration of Conflicting Interests Pinto, V. N. (2008). E-waste hazard: The impending challenge.
Indian Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine,
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect
12, 65-70.
to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Pune Municipal Corporation. (2012). Pune City Sanitation Plan
2012 (final draft). Pune, India: Author.
Funding Pune seems content with e-waste mismanagement. (2011, August
The author(s) received no financial support for the research, author- 5). Pune Mirror.
ship, and/or publication of this article. Ramachandra, T. V., & Varghese, S. K. (2004, March).
Environmentally sound options for e-wastes management.nvis
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Author Biography
non-OECD context: The management of waste electrical and The author has a master degree in Environment Science from Bharati
electronic equipment in India. Resources, Conservation and Vidyapeeth University, Pune followed by an M.Phil from the Centre
Recycling, 53, 136-144. for Studies in Science, Technology and Innovation Policy, Central
Ministry of Environment & Forests. (2008, March 12). Guidelines University of Gujarat, Gandhinagar. Currently, she is a PhD candi-
for environmentally sound management of e-waste (MoEF date at the Centre for Studies in Science Policy, Jawaharlal Nehru
Letter No. 23-23/2007-HSMD). Delhi, India: Ministry of University (JNU), New Delhi with her research focuses on the issues
Environment & Forests, Central Pollution Control Board. of Electronic Waste (E-waste), particularly in India.
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