"Use of technology in E-waste management Abstract: In the 21st Century electronics and other high tech devices became a symbol for progress and modernity. E-waste has been one of the fastest growing waste streams in the world. All products that we use in everyday life results in the generation of wastes, some of which may be persistent, toxic, flammable, corrosive or explosive. So waste encompasses the heterogeneous mass of off-the-cuff from the urban community as well as more homogeneous accumulations of agricultural, industrial and mineral wastes. A paradox of danger signs was visible with increasingly crowded conditions of the cities. With the use of 3R’s (Reduce- Reuse-Recycle)we can able to manage the E-waste. This paper will focus on the uses of E- waste in construction industry as reuse. Because of tremendous increases happens in this industry also which leads to major technology development on it. Keywords: E-waste, 3R’s (Reduce-Reuse-Recycle) and construction industry. 1 Introduction 1.1 Solid waste “To describe the characteristics of the different classes of refuse, and to draw the fact that, if a uniform method of nomenclature and record of quantities handled could kept by the various cities, than the data obtained and the information so gained would be a material advance toward the sanitary disposal of refuse. Such uniformity would not put any expense upon the cities, and direct comparisons and correct conclusions could be made for the benefit of others” (Parsons, 1906) Solid waste encompasses the heterogeneous mass of off-the-cuff from the urban community as well as more homogeneous accumulations of agricultural, industrial and mineral wastes. The management of Solid wastes is one of the earliest of man’s branches of knowledge but in some ways it is also one of the latest. A paradox of danger signs was visible with increasingly crowded conditions of the cities. Today solid waste management is multidisciplinary activity because of technological advances. A great emphasis is on environmental (particularly aesthetics)constraints along with public health and economics. The capacity of nature to disintegrate of its redundant residues in our milieu is well known, so humans cannot stress our ecosystem. The fruition may involve complex interdisciplinary relationships. Solid waste management is start from generation to disposal with resource depletion is coming under scrutiny. This can overcome by resource recovery. But the fluctuation of prices that industry will pay for recovered materials can have significant impact on the viability to build or not asolid waste processing or recovery plant. One of the best ways to reduce the amount of solid wastes that must be disposed of is to limit the consumption of raw materials and to increase the rate of recovery and reuse of waste materials (Darnay Et. al., 1969). Industrial wastes began to ameliorate leads to an embryonic waste which is known as Hazardous Waste. 1.2 Hazardous Waste In an industrialized society, Waste materials are a part of the high standard of living. All products that we use in everyday life results in the generation of wastes, some of which may be persistent, toxic, flammable, corrosive or explosive. This will result of our efficacy use. The quantity and diversity of hazardous wastes have grown with the chain of Technology. Until 1800, waste has non toxic in nature until the invention of petroleum in 1900, the use of synthetic techniques with petroleum products for industrial properties (Richard J. Watts, 1997). Hazardous Substance Uses Hazardous Properties 1,1,1- Trichloroethane Industrial solvent-cleaning of Less toxic when compared to (TCA) EEE, PCB etc., other chlorinated solvents. Carbon tetrachloride In making of CCl F and Freon High toxicity and longer 3 11 environmental persistence Polychlorinated Used as plasticizers, High chlorine, hydrophobic, Biphenyls transformer oil, refrigerator and toxicity and longer freezers, capacitors and other environmental persistence. electrical devices Polychlorinated impurities formed during highly hydrophobic and Dibenzodioxins and industrial synthesis and thermal lilophilic, and chronic toxicity Dibenzofurans processes even for small traces Arsenic (As) In making of Photovoltaic cells Non-metallic or Metalloid , computer chips, nature. Oxidized rapidly when Semiconductor exposed to aerobic condition Cadmium (Cd) As anode material in Batteries Highly toxic metal and longer and catalyst in plastic reaction. environmental persistence. Chromium (Cr) As commercial electronic highly acid-resistant and toxic equipment metal Lead (Pb) In Batteries, Plastics and More immobile metal and an Electronic equipment etc., insidious toxin to central nervous system. Mercury (Hg) In miniature batteries and Mercury is most volatile metal mercury vapour lamp. in its metallic state. Table 1 shows the substances that are hazardous in nature which had used in electronic industry and their hazardous properties was compiled from K.Verschueren, 1983, Sienko et al, 1979 and Richard J. Watts, 1997. The Solid Waste generated from various source are categorized as Hazardous Waste with two broad ways of sources-Primary sources resulted from production-related activities and Secondary sources resulted from waste management activities (ibid). 1.2.1 Definition of Hazard with some Legislation in US and their nature:Pre-regulatory disposal of hazardous waste in United States were Soil Spreading, Pesticides rinse and formulation areas, Underground storage tanks, Pits/ponds/lagoons, Sanitary landfills, Drum storage areas, Unlined hazardous waste landfills, Midnight dumping and Uncontrolled Incineration. Along with such kind of disposal, a few landmark cases in US such are Love Canal contamination, String-fellow Acid Pits, Hardeman County-Tennessee, Times Beach-Missouri, Bunker Hill-Kellogg and so on. Due to the unsafe method of disposals of Hazardous wastes with their slow migration rate in some sub surface systems make the site to be reclaimed its own character for say about 500 years (ibid). With all this alarming consequence leads to a controlled management of Hazardous waste. Various control by Acts were passed by congress as Act / Rule Brief Description Resource Conservation and Total documentation of ‘Where the waste is generated and Recovery Act (RCRA), 1976. where it is disposed of’. The Management goal of RCRA is to Originated from Solid Waste control hazardous wastes from Cradle to Grave. To protect Disposal Act (SWDA), 1965 as Public health and the Environment from hazardous and other hazardous wastes (subset of solid wastes & To preserve natural resources through resource solid wastes). recovery and conservation are there goals Hazardous and Solid Waste The primary goals of HSWA are the same as of RCRA with Amendment (HSWA), 1984.appreciably more technical detail than RCRA. With the critics of EPA on RCRA, Congress underwent some changes in RCRA. Comprehensive Environmental This broader and less extent than that of RCRA but in fact it Response, Compensation and was based on other Environmental Regulations with omission Liability Act (CERCLA), 1980 oftwo materials - Petroleum and Natural Gas Superfund Amendments and ‘Applicable or Relevant Appropriate Requirements (ARAR)’ Reauthorization Act (SARA), which aid in the assessment of how clean is clean. It was also 1986. based on other Environmental Regulations The Emergency Planning and Focuses on the development of emergency plans and data, Community Right-to-know Act reporting for the life-threatening chemicals used in industry. (EPCRA),1986 with SARA Table 2 shows various regulations amended by US congress for hazardous waste was compiled from Richard J. Watts, 1997 Based on all these acts with US Department of Transport were defining specific definitions as Hazardous Wastes are chemicals or materials prepared with those chemicals that are disposed of under RCRA. (Lists, Characteristics and Laboratory Testing procedures are used to define RCRA hazardous waste) Hazardous Substances are chemicals or materials prepared with those chemicals regulated under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA);that is they are hazardous chemicals found at Superfund Sites. They are defined by “list of lists” of chemicals listed under RCRA, The Clean Air Act, The Clean Water Act and other environmental statues.Hazardous Materials are chemicals or materials prepared with those chemicals that are transported by truck, rail, air, or pipeline under United States Department of Transport regulations. Since Hazardous Waste problems are multimedia in nature, it has to be accessed properly to identify their responses to milieu and their preventive measures. 1.3 E-waste E-waste is the simplest of terms Electronic waste – E-Scarp – or Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (“WEEE”), this includes computers, entertainment electronics, mobile phones or refrigerators that have been discarded by their original users. While a generally accepted definition of ‘electronic waste’ does not exist (Widmer et. al. 2005) and its application is rather wide. All types of electronic equipments/ products which have become obsolete, surplus, broken or have been loosely discarded due to Advancement in technology, Changes in fashion, style, status or perception and Nearing the end of their useful life. E-waste is used as a generic term embracing all types of waste containing electrically powered components. E-waste contains both valuable materials as well as hazardous materials which require special handling and recycling methods. Comparing the categories of E-waste as used in the Swiss and EU legislation as Swiss ORDEE regulations EU WEEE Directive Household Appliances: Washing machines, Large Household Appliances :Washing Dryers, Refrigerators, Air-conditioners, Vacuum machines, Dryers, Refrigerators, Air- cleaners, Coffee Machines, Toasters, Irons etc. conditioners, etc. Small Household Appliances:Vacuum cleaners, Coffee Machines, Irons, Toasters, etc Office, Information & Communication Office, Information & Communication Equipment: PCs, Latops, Mobiles, Telephones, Equipment: PCs, Latops, Mobiles, Telephones, Fax Machines, Copiers, Printers etc. Fax Machines, Copiers, Printers etc. Entertainment & Consumer Electronics: Entertainment & Consumer Electronics: Televisions, VCR/DVD/CD players, Hi-Fi sets, Televisions, VCR/DVD/CD players, Hi-Fi sets, Radios, etc Radios, etc Lighting Equipment: Fluorescent tubes, Lighting Equipment: Fluorescent tubes, sodium sodium lamps etc. (Except: Bulbs, Halogen lamps etc. (Except: Bulbs, Halogen Bulbs) Bulbs) Electric and Electronic Tools: Drills, Electric Electric and Electronic Tools: Drills, Electric saws, Sewing Machines, Lawn Mowers etc. saws, Sewing Machines, Lawn Mowers etc. (Except: large stationary tools/machines) (Except: large stationary tools/machines) Toys, Leisure, Sports and Recreational Toys, Leisure, Sports and Recreational Equipment: Electric train sets, coin slot Equipment: Electric train sets, coin slot machines, treadmills etc. machines, treadmills etc. Medical Instruments and Equipment Medical Instruments and Equipment Surveillance and Control Equipment Surveillance and Control Equipment Automatic Issuing Machines Automatic Issuing MachinesRestriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) - Lead, Cadmium, Mercury, Chromium (hexavalent), Brominated Flame Retardants (used in FR4 laminates) Table 3 was Compiled from Directive 2002/96/EC, 2003 and Federal Office for the Environment, shows the variations of E- waste. 2.1 ‘Global’ electronics and the problem of e-waste: In the 21st Century electronics and other high tech devices became a symbol for progress and modernity. They are an indicator to measure a country’s state of development and its inclusion into globalization, as well as its capability to take part in the ‘clean’ international information technology community. This can be accentuating with the quotes given by Grossman (2006:4) as: The Information Age, Cyberspace. The images are clean and lean. They offer a vision of business streamlined by smart machines and high-speed telecommunications and suggest that the proliferation of e-commerce and dot-coms will make the belching smokestacks, filthy effluent, and slag heaps of the Industrial Revolution relics of the past. With this in mind communities everywhere have welcomed high technology under the banner of ‘clean industry’, and as an alternative to traditional manufacturing and traditional exploitation of natural resources. The estimations worldwide showed that WEEE mainly comprises of large house hold electronic equipment such as televisions, PCs, Refrigerators, Cell phones and Washing machines. (Wilkinson et al. 2001; Crowe et al. 2003; Darby and Obara 2004; Liu et al. 2005; Widmer et al. 2005, John and Laurence 2006; Kang and Schoenung 2006; Lee et al. 2007). Technology advancement and a large reduction in production costs enabled this kind of growth rates. In tandem with increased obsolescence rates, the number of PCs worldwide was close to a billion in 2005, while it was around 100 million in 1990 (Macaulay et al. 2003). This is the dirty side to the excessively celebrated ‘high gloss’ image and the ideal value of high tech. In our era of Figure 1 shows growth in the number of personal computers information technology and within, what used from 1993-2002 (Schwarzer 2005) Castells, 2000 calls,“network society”, not only are time and space shrinking, due to growth in information technology and globalization; but in tandem with growing demand and differentiated consumer choice, related to intensified marketing, products are becoming obsolete incredibly fast. This is especially true for the electronic industry. Once these electronics become obsolete they become waste at some point. This kind of waste is called ‘electronic waste’, ‘e-waste’ or ‘Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment’ (WEEE)which describes a “collective terminology for the entire stream of obsolete, broken or irreparable electronic or electrical appliances” (Toxics Link 2003b:3). The profitability of recycling this waste material, along with the high costs and the amount of labuor needed, in developed countries, to handle the waste appropriately, is resulting in a global transboundary trade of e-waste. The report (2004)of the European Network for the Implementation and Enforcement of Environmental Law (Impel) showed that 48 percent of waste exports found in 17 European seaports were illegal. Often it is difficult for authorities to tell during checks at a first glance what material is obsolete and what is reusable. German, Dutch and British enforcement bodies found large quantities of monitors, cameras, cables or CRTs which were obsolete and waiting for export. According to Schwarzer et al. (2005)the United States’ waste burden, for example, is comprised of 500 million computers which became obsolete between 1997 and 2007 as well as 130 million mobiles which were discarded by 2005. Of the 2.6 Million tons of e-waste generated in the US (2005), it is estimated that 50 to 80 percent of collected waste for recycling is exported. This amount of exported waste is contributing to the estimated 80 percent of e-waste worldwide which is transferred to Asia (BAN 2004:1). In the case of the US, who has not ratified the Basel Convention, exporting e-waste is not even illegal. However, waste is not only coming from the US into India, China and Pakistan but also from Europe, Japan and Australia via stretching legislation. The reason for the exports was indicated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which calculated that it is ten times cheaper to export the waste from Western countries than to recycle it (Electronics Take Back Coalition 2005). One problem is that a lot of material which is considered obsolete in industrialized countries can still be used for a few years in developing countries (Schwarzer et al. 2005). However, reuse of material means just postponing its disposal, and in its final use adding to the existing waste stream in the respective country, while developed economies are at ease of its waste burden. Recycling electronics does not describe one single process, but comprises ofmany steps such as de-manufacturing, dismantling, shredding and burning (or exporting). Thus, modern recycling facilities are able to recover around 80 percent of the material, while 15 percent can be burnt and five percent need to be land-filled afterwards. However, there is not sufficient sophisticated technology in use in industrialized countries as it is very cost- intensive (ibid). All in all, the global amount of e-waste generated per annum is estimated between 20 and 50 million tons (Williams 2005) and solely obsolete computers have contributed between 1994 and 2004, approximately 2.872.000 tons of plastic, 718.000 tons of lead, 1363 tons of cadmium and 287 tons of Mercury according to data of Puckett and Smith (2002:8)all adding to the environmental burden. 2.2 India as a digital dumping ground The growing IT/consumer electronics sector is one of India’s trademarks with growth rates of 42 percent between 1995 and 2000 (Toxics Link 2003) and the market is still not saturated. In accordance to the CEAMA (Consumer Electronics and Appliances Manufacturers Association), their growth rate is only 13-15 percent. While the world average growth of PC users between 1993 and 2000 was 181 percent, in India it was 604 percent (LRD 2005). According to MAIT (2007) the penetration rate is more than 22 PCs per 1000 people in 2007 compared to 6.3 in 2001 or 0.7 in 1996. The obsolescence rate of PCs is now one in every two or three years and the overall number of obsolete computers coming from the public and private sector as well as households amount to 1.38 million per year. Manufacturers and assemblers are adding to that by producing around 1,050 tons of electronic scrap per year (Toxics Link 2003a:5). Large amounts of e-waste are entering India via Chennai and Mumbai ports making its way to Delhi from there. The e- waste ending up in Delhi accounts for 10,000 to 12,000 metric tons per year and could increase to 20,000 by 2012. New Delhi’s recycling sector alone employs 25,000 people (Jain 2006) and is growing in tandem with the amounts of obsolete material. It is not only in New Delhi that e-waste is recycled, Other hubs exist, in particular in Mumbai, where estimates vary between 12,000 Figure 2 E-Waste Scenario in India (Nischalke, 2007)and 16,000 tons per annum; followed by Chennai, Bangalore and Kolkata which account for at least 4,000 to 5,000 tons. Some organizations even estimate around 9,000 (Toxics Link 2008). Ahmadabad receives and generates close to 4,000 tons, while smaller hubs as Hyderabad and Pune account for 2,000 to 3,000 and Surat and Nagpur 1,500 to 2,000 tons (Jain 2006). The map shows that e-waste is spread and generated all over India, and large amounts are coming into India via the ports of Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata, especially from the US and Europe, but also from Australia and Japan. Singapore and Dubai serve as ports of transshipment (Nischalke, 2007). However, most junk computers are imported under the 74th chapter (‘Lead-in wire’)or the th 85 chapter (‘Insulators, actuators and contacts’)of the Indian Custom Tariff Act 1975 (Toxics Link 2004:11).The quantity of indigenous e-waste in developing or transition countries is still comparably small (below 1 kg per head per year). But populous countries such as China or India are producing more and more e-waste (Streicher-Porte et al. 2005). Around 146,000 tons of WEEE annually are generated in India alone (Jain 2006, see also Toxics Link 2007:5). Government institutions and the public and private sector are the major contributors of approximately 70 percent of the amount. Manufacturers of components and assemblers and individual households are additional major sources of e-waste generation, though it is difficult to capture exact amounts and numbers of these contributors (EMPA et al. 2007). Most generators do not control the processing of their waste as it is in the hand of the collectors, while municipalities are lacking specific fundamental law and implementing bodies as well as measures to channel e-waste recycling (Toxics Link 2008). However, illegal imports of e-waste still account for most of the material processed in India. For example, Toxics Link revealed that around 70 percent of e-waste ending up in New Delhi’s recycling sector is comprised of exported or dumped waste by developed countries (Wankhade 2004) which are making use of legislative loopholes. The large amount of imported e-waste as well as domestically generated material is piling up in the periphery of large cities in industrializing countries like India, which have on the one side a capacious cheap labour potential within the ‘informal sector’; as well as lax legislation and implementation of import restrictions and controls, or occupational health and environmental standards. However, the recycling process itself requires established safety standards and sophisticated technology (Haldar and Madari 2006:3). The whole system is following patterns of logic others than those of e-waste management in the ‘North’.Figure3 Disposal of E-waste in India (Jain 2006, Nischalke, 2007) 2.3 Effects of Recycling E-waste has been one of the fastest growing waste streams in the world. All European e- waste management systems give inspiration about different ways and schemes to handle the electronic waste issue as per public health and environmental safety. Consumers do pay for recycling in Europe, while Indian customers can still make money selling their obsolete product to the recycler. This is because most electronic goods are composed of plastics, glass and valuable metals. Old PCs, for example contain four grams of gold although never versions would only contain one gram. It is estimated that copper from one ton of e-waste can be sold for 500 Euro at current world market prices. However, computers do not only contain valuable material, but, according to Widmer et al. (2005)also comprise of more than 1000 different substances such as lead, mercury, arsenic, cadmium, selenium, hexavalent chromium and flame retardants resulting in hazardous emissions when processed inappropriately. Those emissions can cause brain damage, cancer, allergic reactions and so on. While those heavy metals account for a high percentage of contaminates in landfills in some western countries (e.g. 70 percent in the US), e-waste is, according to Greenpeace surveys (2005)in India and China, not ending up in landfills due to it’s value as a secondary source (Puckett et al. 2002:9). Instead it is contaminating soil, water and air as well as posing a threat to the health of recyclers during rudimentary recycling processes (EMPA- 2006). Those features need to be taken into account in order to establish an ‘e-waste management system’ or ‘clean e-waste channel’. Therefore actors of the Indo-German-Swiss e-waste initiative in cooperation with the NGO Toxics Link and the industry association MAIT have developed one joint concept on the basis of European examples which is describing an e-waste tradechain of formalized actors regulated in accordance to occupational health and environmental standards. Appliances Average Iron Non-Fe Glass % Plastic Electronic Others weight (Fe) % % metal weight % component % (kg) weight weight weight % weight weight Refrigerators 48 64.4 6 1.4 13 - 15.1 and freezers Washing 40 to 47 59.8 4.6 2.6 1.5 - 31.5 machine PC 29.6 53.3 8.4 15 23.3 17.3 0.7 TV sets 36.2 5.3 5.4 62 22.9 0.9 3.5 Cellular 0.08 to 8 20 10.6 59.6 - 1.8 phones 0.1 Table 4 shows the average weight and composition of WEEE of selected electronic and electrical equipment commonly used in any household. The various items found in E-waste in different range make the E-waste more diverse and complex in nature UNEP which is compiled from E-waste Assessment Manual Vol I (1)Data compiled from Waste from electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE)—quantities, dangerous substances and treatment methods, EEA Copenhagen (2003); (2) QWERTY and Eco- Efficiency analysis on cellular phone treatment in Sweden. TU the Netherland (2004) Computer/e- Process Witnessed Potential Occupational Potential waste Hazard Environmental Hazard Component Plastics from Shredding and low Probable Hydrocarbons, Emissions of brominated Computers Temperature melting heavy metals, brominated dioxins, heavy metals and to be reutilized in dioxins exposure and hydrocarbons peripherals low grade plastics Table 5 shows the E-waste component, their process and their potential health and environmental hazards which was Compiled from GTZ et al. (2007) and Puckett et al. (2002) It shows that E-waste from these items can be dismantled into relatively small number of common components for further treatment. Proponents of e-waste recycling claim that greater employment, new access to raw materials and electronics, and improved infrastructure will result. This will further boost the region’s advance towards prosperity. Yet the reality is that the new wealth and benefits are unequally distributed, and the contribution of electronics to societal growth is sometimes illusory. Most e-waste “recycling” involve small enterprises that are widespread, and difficult to regulate. They take advantage of low labour costs. They are largely invisible to state scrutiny. The best option for dealing with E wastes is to reduce their volume (Ramachandra and Saira, 2004). Recovering of metals, plastic, glass and other materials reduces the magnitude of e-waste which in turn will conserve the energy and keep the environment free of toxic material."