E-Waste in India
Author- Harshitha Poojary
Roll.No- 110
Literature Review
E -Waste Management Issues and Strategies.
Rama Mohana R. Turaga and Kalyan Bhaskar , et al (2019) says that, the limited impact that India’s seven-year old regulations have had is an indication of the challenges that the country faces as far as e-waste management is concerned. This article identifies informal sector e-waste practices, poor regulatory design and enforcement, and low awareness as some of the challenges that India faces. Their ability to collect and aggregate must be recognized as a unique strength and an advantage India can leverage to benefit the environment and the urban poor. The challenge lies in finding the right connect between the law and the sector, and this can happen only if the law acknowledges the existence and contribution of the informal sector.MoEFCC needs to review the current regulation to more explicitly recognize the role that the informal sector plays in e-waste management. The commodity market in India is such formalized so the secondary materials can compete with primary ones and their use can be enhanced in products as equivalent to primary materials. This will enhance the possibilities of manufacturing growth as is envisaged in the Make in India mission as well by the Government of India.
Issues And Challenges – Gap Between Theory and Practice.
Mona Chaudhary, et al (2018) says that, there are several major issues due to the incorrect methods of e-waste disposal like causing harm to both human beings and the physical environment. The current model of e-waste management accounts for a small amount of waste visible to local waste collectors, while a larger portion of that waste may remain uncollected and unused for future purposes, thus adding to India’s land pollution problems. This, coupled with intensified regulations on e-waste disposal, along with the education of these regulations to companies and consumers alike, would result in a cleaner environment and the opportunity to create more economic wealth through the provision of jobs in the e-waste management and recycled/refurbished goods industries. Owing to high quantity of lead, mercury, and cadmium, the e-waste poses dangerous implications for societal health. This is so especially for the workers involved in the e-waste management as they are at a higher risk of exposure to radiation as 95% of the e-waste management is done by the unorganized sector.
Study in Perspective of Pilani- e-waste management
Veera V.S.S.R. Pavan P.” and Dasgupta (2010) says that, a lot of pragmatic decision making is required in Indian perspective to set up and implement a sustainable WEEE handling system.Another important observation is that, the responsibility of safe disposal of WEEE is shifted away from the end user. Success of such a model hinges on cooperation of all stake holders and is dependent on socio-economic structure. In order to see success of such a scheme in Indian context, massive PR exercise may need to be undertaken to sensitize all stake holders about environmental issues, Further, we have to keep in mind that when we observe EEE consumer behavior in European countries, we find a mature and some what saturated market, while in India, it is a developing market. Therefore in An increase in price of EEE in terms of added ARF or taxes may not be detrimental to the growth of business at this point. Further, the average life of an EHE product in Indian context may have to be fixed at a level much above 5 years; however detailed study in this regard is necessary before any concltision can be drawn. Organizational users of EEE in India also face another problem related to audit regulations, which are sometimes restrictive in teiTns of recognizing ‘out of useful life” for the costly HEE items that face rapid obsolesce due to technology upgrade.
Understanding E-waste management in developing countries
Richard Heeks , et al (2015) says that ,management teams have a genuine environmental concern and a genuine vision for sustainable operations. Lacking any perceived contextual pressures, SME managers vest in e-waste no wider business or social or environmental ramifications. This fits the broader evidence that environmental practices can affect the corporate bottom line. If we look to the deeper factors which shape the e-waste strategic determinants, size has already been identified and is known to be correlated to more proactive environmental strategies.The VLOs operate within global value chains in which cost and quality are important for clients but so, too at least for some clients are environmental standards. Global value chains are sometimes criticized for offshoring environmental costs from the global North to the global South . But, in this case, the global value chains have been responsible for offshoring environmental values and practices.
Informality in E-waste Processing
Somjita and Laha (2014) says that, it develops a schematic representation of the WEEE stream between different formal and informal actors to illustrate the position, function and linkages of the informal sector. It shows that the informal waste economy is functionally interconnected with the formal waste management system and its international production network, as it ‘collects recyclable materials and feeds them, often through middlemen, into a network of main dealers, recycling industries and perhaps exporters, all of whom work within the formal private sector’ . Despite the linkages between the formal and informal sectors in e-waste management both nationally and internationally, these two sectors are driven by divergent perceptions of waste. In the formal sector, WEEE represents a cost to be paid by the manufacturer or the user, whereas in the informal sector it has value and is considered to be a commodity which yields useful products with vibrant markets.To properly design governance mechanisms for e-waste processing, the informal sector has to be incorporated in policy making.
Factors Influencing Safe Disposal
Mohammed Laeequddin et al (2022) says that, factors such as awareness, convenience, subjective norms producer interventions, and regulations were found to significantly impact safe disposal intentions. Safe disposal intentions were found to significantly influence safe disposal behavior. The study’s results emphasize two areas that may trigger the consumer’s intentions for the safe disposal of e-waste. Safe disposal sites near consumers’ locations and a proper drop-off location provided by the manufacturers/producers by collaborating with agents are highly recommended along with the clear communication to customers for the safe disposal of e-waste. Producers may be compelled to issue statutory warnings in their product advertisements, catalogues describing the disposal techniques, and reverse logistics plan. Government regulations also help in developing safe disposal intentions.
Initiatives by IT Companies in India
Vishal Gupta et al (2013) says that, now when global warming and environmental exploitation have become issues at global level and countries have committed to control the situations at international forums, the concepts of SCM are being transformed to GrSCM, which means conducting business to meet human needs without rapidly depleting resources, degrading the environment, or compromising nature conservation efforts. For a developing country like India, where the business has to adopt GrSCM, the governments must legislate laws, make all stakeholders aware of the same, and ensure fair and transparent implementation of laws. The selected three best Indian IT product companies have adopted GrSCM initiatives and are reaping the rewards. Dell computers reduced costs by using environment-friendly packaging material. As the major player in India, these companies are expected to set the benchmark, and GrSCM is the only way forward for clean environment and sustainable development. The Indian government has already enforced WEEE provisions, and RoHS-related provisions will be enforced from May 1, 2014. The Government of India must adopt a more integrative and proactive approach to promote ‘green initiatives’ and enforce the rules and regulations in this regard, which will not only bring competitive advantage to the companies and create value for stakeholders, but also protect the environment.
Factors influencing the purchase intention of consumers towards remanufactured products
Deepak Singhal et al (2019) says that, sustainability in business practices can be infused through the sale of remanufactured products in the market. However, the remarketing of these products becomes the bottleneck in the CLSC that prevents the society in harassening the advantage of remanufacturing. Therefore, this paper attempts to carry out a systematic literature review and examines closely the factors related to PI of consumers towards remanufactured products through meta-analysis. Meta-regression for moderator analysis of PGB-PI relationship imply the need for creating more green awareness among EE consumers than automobile consumers. This research is limited to only in assessing PI of consumers towards the remanufactured products. PI can be obtained if the studies related to refurbished and recycled products are also included for meta-analysis. Moreover, further research can also be carried out in assessing the return intention of consumers towards the used products because remanufacturing can start only if the used products are returned to the location.The managerial insights of this research will be a guideline for the decision makers in the remanufacturing industries.
Understanding the current E-waste management system in India
Kajalben Patel (2021) says that, India is a developing country with a rapidly growing economy. From the obtained findings, this study concludes that there is a limited impact that India has because of EPR. The limited impact of this rule is an indication of the challenges that India faces as far as ewaste management is concerned. With its wide scope and access to waste from both urban and rural areas, the Author of this study concludes that the informal sector plays a critical role in managing e-waste in India.In India awareness among consumers and a few informal sectors in regards to proper disposal of e-waste. Adopting this scheme will ensure the proper collection of e-waste in India.
E-Waste Management: As a Challenge to Public Health in India
Monica et al (2010) says that,the hazardous nature of e-waste is one of the rapidly growing environmental problems of the world. A large number of workers are involved in crude dismantling of these electronic items for their livelihood and their health is at risk; therefore, there is an urgent need to plan a preventive strategy in relation to health hazards of e-waste handling among these workers in India. For e-waste management many technical solutions are available, but to be adopted in the management system, prerequisite conditions such as legislation, collection system, logistics, and manpower should be prepared.
Conclusion
The commodity market in India is such formalized so the secondary materials can compete with primary ones and their use can be enhanced in products as equivalent to primary materials. The current model of e-waste management accounts for a small amount of waste visible to local waste collectors, while a larger portion of that waste may remain uncollected and unused for future purposes, thus adding to India’s land pollution problems. Owing to high quantity of lead, mercury, and cadmium, the e-waste poses dangerous implications for societal health.
Informality in E-waste Processing
It shows that the informal waste economy is functionally interconnected with the formal waste management system and its international production network, as it ‘collects recyclable materials and feeds them, often through middlemen, into a network of main dealers, recycling industries and perhaps exporters, all of whom work within the formal private sector’ . Despite the linkages between the formal and informal sectors in e-waste management both nationally and internationally, these two sectors are driven by divergent perceptions of waste.
Factors Influencing Safe Disposal
Factors such as awareness, convenience, subjective norms producer interventions, and regulations were found to significantly impact safe disposal intentions. The study’s results emphasize two areas that may trigger the consumer’s intentions for the safe disposal of e-waste. Producers may be compelled to issue statutory warnings in their product advertisements, catalogues describing the disposal techniques, and reverse logistics plan.
Initiatives by IT Companies in India
The Government of India must adopt a more integrative and proactive approach to promote ‘green initiatives’ and enforce the rules and regulations in this regard, which will not only bring competitive advantage to the companies and create value for stakeholders, but also protect the environment.
Understanding the current E-waste management system in India
The limited impact of this rule is an indication of the challenges that India faces as far as ewaste management is concerned. With its wide scope and access to waste from both urban and rural areas, the Author of this study concludes that the informal sector plays a critical role in managing e-waste in India.
Reference
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