Review of Sustainable Management of e-waste in India

Electronic waste is the end of life remnant of electronic devices and is increasing at a much higher rate than all other waste streams. Due to the fast-growing electronics industries arising from the demands of information and communication technologies around the world coupled with the rapid product obsolescence and lack of end-of-life management options, have all led to the unsustainable management of the waste stream. Electronic devices such as computers are manufactured from over 1,000 materials, many of which are toxic, and they contribute significantly to the e-waste stream, which is estimated to be approximately 20 to 50 million tonnes annually. Government of India has taken substantial measures to curb e-waste by the adoption of e-waste Management and Handling rules 2011. Amongst the various initiatives worldwide, design for environment cleaner production, extended producer responsibility, standards and labelling, product stewardship, recycling and remanufacturing are some of the practices adopted by various countries around the world to deal with the e-waste stream. The paper attempts to review these practices as well look into the manner in which they contribute to the sustainable management of e-waste.

Author(s): S Suresh Kumar

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