India, with over 1 billion people, is the second most populated country in the world. Although the penetration of India's market for consumer durables is substantially lower than that of developed countries, the size of India's market in complete terms is larger than that of many high-income countries. Moreover, India is one of the fastest growing economies of the world and the domestic demand for consumer durables in India has been skyrocketing. From 1998 to 2002, there was a 53.1% increase in the sales of domestic home utilizations, both large and small. The growth in PC ownership per capita in India between 1993 and 2000 was 604% compared to a world average of 181%. As a result, the total PC base during this period has grown from an
estimated 450,000 PCs to 4,200,000 PCs.
Unfortunately, economic growth and environmental safety indicators are at odds with one another. India ranks an abysmal 101th on the 2005 Environmental Sustainability Index, and for Environmental Governance gets only the 66th rank, with a score of _0.10 (the highest being Iceland with 1.65 and the lowest Iraq with 1.52). Environmental worries among producers as well as the awareness of consumers regarding environmental issues are not very high. While the government has passed several environmental protection laws, their enforcement remains uncertain. While environmental concerns take a back seat amid more pressing difficulties, Indians culturally are dislike to waste, and this ensures that electrical and electronic products often find second- and even third hand users farther down the income chain.
INTRODUCTION:
The electronic industry is the world's largest and fastest developing manufacturing industry. During the last decade, it has assumed the role of providing a forceful leverage to the socio - economic and technological growth of a emerging society. The consequence of its consumer oriented growth pooled with rapid product obsolescence and technological advances are a new environmental challenge - the growing threat of "Electronics Waste" or "e waste" that consists of outdated electronic devices. It is an emerging problem as well as a business opportunity of increasing importance, given the volumes of e-waste being generated and the content of both toxic and valuable materials in them. The fraction including iron, copper, aluminum, gold and other metals in e-waste is over 60%, while plastics account for about 30% and the hazardous pollutants comprise only about 2.70%.
Solid waste management, which is already a mammoth task in India, is becoming more difficult by the invasion of e-waste, particularly computer waste. E-waste from developed countries find an easy way into developing countries in the name of free trade is further confusing the problems associated with waste management.
The information and communication technology (ICT) sector in the last twenty years or so in India has revolutionized life of one and all, racketing a viral effect on electronic manufacturing industries leading to extraordinary growth in terms of both, volume and applications. Digital development has become the new mantra having its all overwhelming footprints everywhere.
The booming usage of electronic and electrical equipment's has created a new but very risky stream of waste, called "electronic-waste", or simply known as e-waste. With the presence of deadly chemicals and toxic substances in the electronic gadgets, disposal of e-waste is becoming an environmental and health nightmare. E-waste is now one of the fastest growing waste streams. Every year, hundreds of thousands of old computers, mobile phones, television sets and radio equipment are discarded, most of which either end up in landfills or illegal recycling yards.
According to a MAIT report, India in 2007 generated 380,000 tonnes of e-waste from discarded Computers, Televisions and Mobile Phones. This is projected to grow to more than 800,000 tonnes by 2012 with a growth rate of 15 %. The estimate includes 50, 000 tonnes of such e-waste imported from developed countries as charity for reuse, which mostly end up in informal recycling yards either immediately or once the re-used product is discarded. This is a conservative and restricted estimate. Complex, ambiguous definitions of second-hand electronic equipment has made it difficult for the customs department to trace, identify and stop the illegal in-flow of e-waste.
The authorized e-waste recycling facilities in India capture only 3% of total e-waste produced; the rest makes its way to informal recycling yards in major cities like Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore. This is because businesses sell their discarded IT and other equipment to informal recyclers for quick money without realizing the hazardous consequences it causes to health and environment.
What is E-Waste?:
Electronic waste or E-Waste, as it is becoming more commonly referred to, is a generic term embracing various forms of electric and electronic equipment that have ceased to be of any use to their owners. This term can apply to a broad range of goods, including large and small household appliances; Information and technology (IT) equipment including computers, computer games and peripherals; cellular telephones and other telecommunication equipment; portable electronic devices such as portable digital assistants (PDAs), video and audio equipment, including MP3 players and peripherals; and electrical tools. Furthermore, many everyday commodities that were formerly considered electrical equipment, such as refrigerators, household appliances and toys, are becoming 'electronic' objects through the addition of programmable microprocessors.
Once these products reach the end of their useful life, they become E-Waste or WEEE, wasted electrical and electronic equipment. WEEE and E-Waste are terms that are often used synonymously, however, in this report; the term E-Waste will be predominantly used in reference to these products. E-Waste has been defined by Schafer et al. (2003) as any equipment that is dependent on electric currents or electromagnetic fields in order to work properly, including equipment for the generation, transfer, and measurement of current. However, at this point in time, there is no standard definition of what constitutes E-Waste. Table 1 lists other selected definitions.
1.3 Where Does E-Waste Come From?
Electronic waste is generated by three major sectors in India-
• individuals and small businesses
• large businesses, institutions, and governments
• original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).
Individuals and Small Businesses -- Electronic equipment, and computers in particular, are often discarded by households and small businesses, not because they are broken but simply because new technology has left them obsolete or undesirable. With today's computer industry delivering new technologies and upgrades' to the market about every 18 months, the useful life-span of a personal computer has minimized from four or five years down to two years. Often new software is incompatible or insufficient with older hardware so that customers are forced to buy new ones.
Large corporations, institutions, and government - Large users upgrade employee computers regularly. For example, Microsoft, with over 50,000 employees worldwide (some of whom have more than one computer) replaces each computer about every three years.11 By law it is illegal for these large sers to dispose of computers via landfill and thus, this Ewaste goes to the re-use/recycling/export market. Some large companies lease their computers from leasing companies, who take back working and non-working computers at the end of contracts. Leasing companies take out hundreds or thousands of computers at a time and in turn resell them to brokers in the reuse/export markets. The volume of leased computers is gigantic in comparison to sales of new computers to corporations
Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) - OEMs generate E-waste when units coming off the production line don't meet quality standards, and must be disposed of. Some of the computer manufacturers deal with recycling companies to handle their electronic waste, which often is exported.
Where Does E-Waste Go?
The volume of obsolete computers thrown out or temporarily stored for later disposal is already a serious problem that is ever-increasing at a rapid rate. Currently, and unfortunately, the vast majority of E-waste ends up in our landfills or incinerators. While there are efforts to divert E-waste from landfills, via "recycling", electronics "recycling" is a distorted characterization of many disparate practices - including de-manufacturing, dismantling, shredding, burning, exporting, etc. - that is mostly unregulated and often creates additional hazards itself.
"Recycling" of hazardous wastes, even under the best of circumstances, has little environmental benefit - it simply moves the hazards into secondary products that eventually have to be disposed of. Unless the goal is to redesign the product to use non-hazardous materials, such recycling is a false solution. Current market conditions and manufacturing methods and inputs discourage environmentally sound electronic recycling practices, so most E-waste that is currently being "recycled" is actually being exported, dismantled in prisons, or shredded in processes where there is some material recovery followed by the discard of the left over materials.
It is mainly used for-
Landfill and Incineration
Re-use
Domestic Recycling
Hazards In E-Waste:
Although it is hardly well known, E-waste contains a witches' brew of toxic substances such as lead and cadmium in circuit boards; lead oxide and cadmium in monitor cathode ray tubes (CRTs); mercury in switches and flat screen monitors; cadmium in computer batteries;
polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in older capacitors and transformers; and brominated flame retardants on printed circuit boards, plastic casings, cables and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) cable insulation that release highly toxic dioxins and furans when burned to retrieve copper from the wires. Due to the hazards involved, disposing and recycling Ewaste has serious legal and environmental implications. When computer waste is landfilled or burnt, it poses significant contamination problems. Landfills leach toxins into groundwater and incinerators emit toxic air pollutants including dioxins. Likewise, the recycling of computers has serious occupational and environmental effects, particularly when the recycling industry is often marginally profitable at best and often cannot afford to take the necessary precautions to protect the environment and worker health.
Lead -- The negative effects of lead are well established and recognized. It was first banned from gasoline in the 1970s. Lead causes damage to the central and peripheral nervous systems, blood systems, kidney and reproductive system in humans. Effects on the endocrine system have been observed and its serious negative effects on children's brain development are well accepted. Lead accumulates in the environment and has high acute and chronic effects on plants, animals and micro-organisms. The main applications of lead in computers are: glass panels and gasket (frit) in computer monitors (3-8 pounds per monitor), and solder in printed circuit boards and other components.
Cadmium -- Cadmium compounds are toxic with a probable risk of irreversible effects on human health, and accumulate in the human body, particularly the kidneys. Cadmium occurs in certain components such as SMD chip resistors, infra-red detectors, and semiconductor chips. Cadmium is also a plastics stabilizer and some older cathode ray tubes contain cadmium.
Mercury -- Mercury can cause damage to various organs including the brain and kidneys, as well as the fetus. Most importantly, the developing fetus is highly susceptible through maternal exposure to mercury. When inorganic mercury spreads out in the water, it is transformed to methylated mercury in the bottom sediments. Methylate mercury easily collects in living organisms and concentrates through the food chain, particularly via fish. It is estimated that 22 % of the yearly world consumption of mercury is used in electrical and electronic equipment. It is used in thermostats, sensors, relays, switches (e.g. on printed circuit boards and in measuring equipment), medical equipment, lamps, mobile phones and in batteries. Mercury, used in flat panel displays, will likely increase as their use replaces cathode ray tubes.
Hexavalent Chromium/Chromium VI -- Chromium VI is still used as corrosion protection of untreated and galvanized steel plates and as a decorative or hardener for steel housings. It
easily passes through cell membranes and is then absorbed- producing various toxic effects in polluted cells. Chromium VI can cause damage to DNA and is extremely toxic in the environment.
Plastics including PVC -- Plastics make up 13.8 pounds of an average computer. The largest volume of plastics (26%) used in electronics has been poly-vinyl-chloride (PVC). PVC is mainly found in cabling and computer housings, although many computer mouldings are now made with the somewhat more benign ABS plastics. PVC is used for its fire-retardant
properties. As with many other chlorine-containing compounds, dioxin can be formed when PVC is burned within a certain temperature range.
Brominated flame retardants (BFRs) -- BFRs are used in the plastic housings of electronic equipment and in circuit boards to prevent flammability. More than 50% of BFR usage in the electronics industry consists of tetra-bromo-bis-phenol - (TBBPA), 10% is polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and less than 1% is polybrominated biphenyls (PBB). Some BFRs
have been targeted for phase out by the European Parliament between the years of 2003 and 2006.
Barium -- Barium is a soft silvery-white metal that is used in computers in the front panel of a CRT, to protect users from radiation . Studies have shown that short-term exposure to
barium has caused brain swelling, muscle weakness, damage to the heart, liver, and spleen. There is still a lack of data on the effects of chronic barium exposures to humans.
Animal studies, however, reveal increased blood pressure and changes in the heart from feeding barium over a long period of time.
Beryllium -- Beryllium is a steel-grey metal that is extremely lightweight, hard, a good conductor of electricity and heat, and is non-magnetic. These properties make beryllium suitable for many industrial uses, including, electronic applications such as computers. In computers, beryllium is commonly found on mother-boards and "finger clips" as a copper
beryllium alloy used to strengthen the tensile strength of connectors and tinyplugs while maintaining electrical conductivity. Beryllium has recently been classified as a human
carcinogen as exposure to it can cause lung cancer. The primary health concern is inhalation of beryllium dust, fume or mist. Workers who are constantly exposed to beryllium, even in small amounts, and who become sensitized to it can develop what is known as Chronic Beryllium Disease (beryllicosis), a disease which primarily affects the lungs. Exposure to beryllium also causes a form of skin disease that is characterized by poor wound healing and wart-like bumps. Studies have shown that people can still develop beryllium disease even many years following the last exposure.
Toners -- One of the ubiquitous computer peripheral scraps and post-consumer E-waste is the plastic printer cartridge containing black and color toners. The main ingredient of the black toner is a pigment commonly called, carbon black - the general term used to describe the commercial powder form of carbon. Inhalation is the primary exposure pathway, and acute exposure may lead to respiratory tract irritation. The International Agency for Research on Cancer has classified carbon black as a class 2B carcinogen, possibly carcinogenic to humans. Little information exists on the hazards of colored toners. Some reports indicate that such toners (cyan, yellow and magenta) contain heavy metals.
Phosphor and additives -- Phosphor is an inorganic chemical compound that is applied as a coat on the interior of the CRT faceplate. Phosphor affects the display resolution and luminance of the images that is seen in the monitor. The hazards of phosphor in CRTs are not well known or reported, but the U.S. Navy has not minced words about the hazards involved in some of their guidelines: "NEVER touch a CRT's phosphor coating: it is extremely toxic. If you break a CRT, clean up the glass fragments very carefully. If you touch the phosphor seek medical attention immediately." The phosphor covering contains heavy metals, such as cadmium, and other rare earth metals, e.g. zinc, vanadium, etc. as additives. These metals and their compounds are very toxic. This is a serious hazard posed for those who dismantle CRTs by hand.
LITERATURE REVIEW
What is being done?
Government initiative
The Union Government has formed a special cell in the Ministry of Environment and Forests,
Govt. of India. The Ministry is in the process of drawing up an action plan to contain and
manage e-waste. It is also possible that the government could impose ban on dumping electronic waste in the country. In Delhi, the state government is planning to bring in legislation to manage electronic waste in the capital. The legislation will make it mandatory for industries producing electronic goods to take them back. Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit asked senior officials of the government to draw up the legislation. This law will prevent the MCD from managing electronic waste and will instead lay the onus on the industries.
Corporate initiative
Many producers are expected to take accountability for their products throughout their lifecycle, under a new concept called Extended Producer Responsibility, or EPR. According to this, Corporations assume the liabilities associated with the final fate of their products, where companies are now being required to phase-out a number of hazardous substances in electronic products and take back their discarded products for recycling.
Environmental Groups Greenpeace, the Basel Action Network (BAN), Toxics Link (India), and the Korea Zero Waste Movement Network (KZWMN) are the major groups working on the issues of electronic waste. The report "Scrapping the High Tech Myth: Computer Waste in India'' was the pioneering work on e-waste in the whole of South Asia, by Toxics Link.
STATUS OF E-WASTE MANAGEMENT IN INDIA:
Despite a wide range of environmental legislation in India there are no specific laws or
Guidelines for electronic waste or computer waste (Devi et al., 2004). As per the Hazardous
Waste Rules (1989), e-waste is not treated as hazardous unless demonstrated to have higher
Concentration of certain substances. Though PCBs and CRTs would always exceed these
Parameters, there are several grey areas that need to be addressed. Basel Convention has Waste
Electronic assemblies in A1180 and mirror entry in B1110, mainly on concerns of mercury, lead and cadmium. Electronic waste is included under List-A and List-B of Schedule-3 of the
Hazardous Wastes (Management & Handling) Rules, 1989 as amended in 2000 & 2003. The
import of this waste therefore requires specific permission of the Ministry of Environment and Forests. As the collection and re-cycling of electronic wastes is being done by the informal sector in the country at present, the Government has taken the following action/steps to enhance awareness about environmentally sound management of electronic waste (CII, 2006):
• Several Workshops on Electronic Waste Management was organised by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) in collaboration with Toxics Link, CII etc.
• Action has been initiated by CPCB for rapid assessment of the E-Waste generated in major
cities of the country.
• A National Working Group has been constituted for framing a strategy for E-Waste
management.
• A comprehensive technical guide on "Environmental Management for Information
Technology Industry in India" has been published and circulated widely by the Department of
Information Technology (DIT), Ministry of Communication and Information Technology.
• Demonstration projects has also been set up by the DIT at the Indian Telephone Industries for recovery of copper from Printed Circuit Boards. Although awareness and eagerness for implementing improvements is increasing rapidly, the major obstacles to manage the e wastes safely and effectively remain.
These include
• The lack of reliable data that poses a challenge to policy makers wishing to design an e-waste management strategy and to an industry wishing to make rational investment decisions.
• Only a fraction of the e waste (estimated 10%) finds its way to recyclers due to absence of an efficient take back scheme for consumers,
• The lack of a safe e waste recycling infrastructure in the formal sector and thus reliance on the capacities of the informal sector pose severe risks to the environment and human health.
• The existing e waste recycling systems are purely business-driven that have come about
without any government interference. Any development in these e waste sectors will have to
be built on the existing set-up as the waste collection and pre-processing can be handled
efficiently by the informal sector, at the same time offer numerous job opportunities.
The Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs mandated the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research (EMPA) to implement the programme "Knowledge Partnerships in e-Waste Recycling" and India is one of the partner countries. The programme aims at improving e-waste management systems through Knowledge Management and Capacity Building. It has studied e-waste recycling frameworks and processes in different parts of the world (Switzerland, India, China, South Africa) in its first phase (2003-04) and all results of the project are documented on the website http://www.ewaste.ch/.
E-waste policy and regulation
The Policy shall address all issues ranging from production and trade to final disposal, including technology transfers for the recycling of electronic waste. Clear regulatory instruments, adequate to control both legal and illegal exports and imports of e-wastes and safeguarding their environmentally sound management should be in place. There is also a need to address the loop holes in the prevailing legal frame work to ensure that e - wastes from developed countries are not reaching the country for disposal. The Port and the Custom authorities need to monitor these aspects. The regulations should prohibit the disposal of e-wastes in municipal landfills and encourage owners and generators of e-wastes to properly recycle the wastes. Manufactures of products must be made financially, physically and legally responsible for their products. Policies and regulations that cover Design for Environment (DfE) and better management of regulated substances may be implemented through measures such as
• specific product take-back obligations for industry
• financial responsibility for actions and schemes
• greater attention to the role of new product design
• material and/or substance bans including stringent restrictions on certain substances
• greater scrutiny of cross-border movements of Electrical and Electronic Products and e-waste
• Increasing public awareness by identifying products as 'environmental hazard'
The key questions about the effectiveness of legislation would include:
• What is to be covered by the term electronic waste?
• Who pays for disposal?
• Is producer responsibility the answer?
• What would be the benefits of voluntary commitments?
• How can sufficient recovery of material be achieved to guarantee recycling firms a reliable
and adequate flow of secondary material?
A complete national level inventory, covering all the cities and all the sectors must be initiated. A public-private participatory forum (E Waste Agency) of decision making and problem resolution in E-waste management must be developed. This could be a Working Group comprising Regulatory Agencies, NGOs, Industry Associations, experts etc. to keep pace with the temporal and spatial changes in structure and content of E-waste. This Working Group can be the feedback providing mechanism to the Government that will periodically review the existing rules, plans and strategies for E-waste management. Mandatory identifying of all computer monitors, television sets and other household/industrial electronic devices may be implemented for declaration of hazardous material contents with a view to identifying environmental hazards and ensuring proper material management and Ewaste disposal.
The efforts to improve the situation through regulations, though an important step; are usually
only modestly effective because of the lack of enforcement. While there has been some progress made in this direction with the support of agencies such as GTZ, implementation of regulations is often weak due to lack of resources and underdeveloped legal systems. Penalties for noncompliance and targets for collection or recycling are often used to ensure compliance.
Solid waste management, which is already a mammoth task in India, is becoming more
complicated by the invasion of e-waste, particularly computer waste. There exists an urgent
need for a detailed assessment of the current and future scenario including quantification,
characteristics, existing disposal practices, environmental impacts etc.
Institutional infrastructures, including e-waste collection, transportation, treatment, storage, recovery and disposal, need to be established, at national and/or regional levels for the environmentally sound management of e-wastes. Establishing of e-waste collection, exchange and recycling centres should be encouraged in partnership with private entrepreneurs and manufacturers.
Model facilities employing environmentally sound technologies and methods for recycling
and recovery are to be established. Criteria are to be developed for recovery and disposal of E
Wastes. Policy level interventions should include development of e-waste regulation, control of import and export of e-wastes and facilitation in development of infrastructure. An effective take-back program providing incentives for producers to design products that are less wasteful, contain fewer toxic components, and are easier to disassemble, reuse, and recycle may help in reducing the wastes. It should set targets for collection and reuse/recycling, impose reporting requirements and include enforcement mechanisms and deposit/refund schemes to encourage consumers to return electronic devices for collection and reuse/recycling. End-of life management should be made a priority in the design of new electronic products.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research Objectives
The objectives of our research is-
To identify the sources of electronic wastes and their disposal
Awareness of people about electronic waste
Electronic waste disposal system practice in India
Rationale of proposed investigation
Electronic waste contains over thousands different substances, many of which are toxic, and creates serious pollution upon disposal. Due to this electronic waste has a very harmful effect not only on human beings but also on entire biodiversity. So the idea of this research is to develop an efficient and effective electronic disposal so that this toxic effect can be minimized.
Research Design
Tools of data analysis- SPSS
Types of survey- Sample survey
Sample size- Sample size was determined using the formula-
N= (Z2* S2)/D2
Where,
N= Sample size
Z= Z value for a particular confidence interval
S= Standard deviation
D= Precision level
Here,
Confidence interval= 95%
Z value for this CI=1.96
Standard deviation=0.06
Precision level=0.01
So the sample size= {(1.96)2*(0.06)2}/ (0.01)2
= 138
Sampling Techniques- Non-probabilistic sampling was used. Here I have surveyed only those persons who according to me were appropriate for my research.
Time
January-February 2011
Sampling area
NOIDA and NCR
Type of research-Exploratory research was used in my research. Earlier the work done on my chosen area of research was very less. So there was very less prior data available in this area. So exploratory research was most suitable for my research.
Types of data- The two types of data that were taken into consideration are Primary and Secondary data. But, major emphasis was given on gathering of Primary data. The secondary data have been used for making things more clear and precise.
Primary data
I conducted a pilot survey by means of which we could enhance the quality of our questionnaire and eliminate redundancies. Following that, I administered the questionnaire to 132 respondents. The survey was conducted across Delhi and NCR region.
Secondary data
An extensive research on the topic helped me in obtaining appreciatively relevant information about my area of research. For this purpose I have gone through various numbers of articles, journals, case studies, newspaper report etc.
Data collection tool
A formal questionnaire was administered to respondents for the purpose of collecting primary data. In the first phase of my survey a pilot survey was conducted. After analysing the results of the pilot survey some changes was incorporated into the questionnaire and the questionnaire was finalized with the consultation of my guide.
The respondents were given the final questionnaire as a printed sheet. Final questionnaire consisted of 18 questions which covered the awareness of electronic waste and its harmful effects, how people dispose their e-waste, awareness of any government initiative for safe disposal of e-waste etc. Wherever required, their doubts were duly clarified. The entire exercise took 20 days. Proper efforts were made to generate effective efforts.
DATA ANALYSIS
Awareness about electronic waste
Frequency
Percent
Valid Percent
Valid
yes
66
50.0
50.0
rough idea
50
37.9
37.9
no idea
16
12.1
12.1
Total
132
100.0
100.0
what is electronic waste?
Statistical conclusion
From the above graph we can say that most of the people are aware of electronic waste as 50% people are aware and almost 38% people are roughly aware of it.
Awareness of harmful electronic waste and its source
Frequency
Percent
Valid Percent
Valid
not aware
96
72.7
72.7
news paper
4
3.0
3.0
government program
4
3.0
3.0
friends
8
6.1
6.1
TV/magazine
20
15.2
15.2
Total
132
100.0
100.0
Awareness of harmful electronic waste and it's source
Statistical conclusion
The above graph suggests most of the people (72.7%) are unaware of harmful effect of e-waste and very few know about toxic effect of it through TV/magazine, Government program, friends etc.
Where does this e-waste go after disposal?
Frequency
Percent
Valid Percent
Valid
recycled
48
36.4
36.4
reused
52
39.4
39.4
goes to dumping site
8
6.1
6.1
no idea
24
18.2
18.2
Total
132
100.0
100.0
Where does the e-waste go after disposal?
Statistical conclusion
Above data suggests most of the people think that after their disposal e-waste is either recycled or reused. It is also noticeable that around 20% people have no idea about its future.
How much important to keep e-waste out of landfill?
Frequency
Percent
Valid Percent
Valid
hazardous substances goes to underground water body
48
36.4
36.4
dangerous for ecological environment
72
54.5
54.5
waste of precious metal like-gold, copper etc.
8
6.1
6.1
don't know
4
3.0
3.0
Total
132
100.0
100.0
Why it is important to keep e-waste out of landfill?
Statistical conclusion
The above data tells that most of people think that e-waste should be kept out of landfill because the hazardous substances in it goes to underground water body which is harmful for ecological environment.
How would you like to recycle your e-waste?
Frequency
Percent
Valid Percent
Valid
taking to recycle centre by yourself
44
33.3
33.3
giving back to retailers(from where purchased)
48
36.4
36.4
send it back to manufacturer
8
6.1
6.1
donate it in any collection event
32
24.2
24.2
Total
132
100.0
100.0
How would you like to recycle your e-waste?
Statistical conclusion
The above graph suggests that most people like to recycle their e-waste by taking the e-waste to the collection centre by themselves or giving it back to the retailers from where it was purchased. It can be also seen that very few opted for sending it back directly to the manufacturer.
Awareness about any government initiative
Frequency
Percent
Valid Percent
Valid
not aware
84
63.6
63.6
local body(municipality, district authority)
16
12.1
12.1
state government
12
9.1
9.1
central government
20
15.2
15.2
Total
132
100.0
100.0
Awareness of any government initiative
Statistical conclusion
Above data suggests that most of the people (64%) are unaware of any government initiative about safe disposal of electronic waste. Also the awareness of government run safe disposal of e-waste is very low among people.
Existence of e-waste collection centre in area and it's usage
Frequency
Percent
Valid Percent
Valid
yes there are and i use
24
18.2
18.2
yes there are but i don't use
16
12.1
12.1
there are none
36
27.3
27.3
not aware if there is any collection centre
56
42.4
42.4
Total
132
100.0
100.0
Existence of e-waste collection centre in area and it's usage
Statistical Conclusion
The above data represents that around 43 % people don't know whether there is any collection centre in their area or not whereas 16% people don't use collection centre inspite of having it in their area. It is also noticeable that only 18% people use a collection centre.
Reason for not using e-waste collection centre
Frequency
Percent
Valid Percent
Valid
never thought of it
64
48.5
59.3
not our list of priority
28
21.2
25.9
inconvenient
16
12.1
14.8
Total
108
81.8
100.0
Missing
System
24
18.2
Total
132
100.0
Reason for not using an e-waste collection centre
Statistical conclusion
From the above data we can conclude that almost half of the people are completely ignorant about safe disposal of e-waste. It also suggests that over 20% people don't think it as an important thing in their life.
Collection through third party agency
Not sure
No
Yes
Collection through third party agency
Frequency
Percent
Valid Percent
Valid
yes
84
63.6
63.6
no
24
18.2
18.2
not sure
24
18.2
18.2
Total
132
100.0
100.0
Readiness for collection through third party agency
Statistical conclusion
From the above graph data we can conclude that most of the people (65%) are ready to accept the service of a third party agency against a nominal fee for disposal of e-waste.
Acceptance of threat from electronic waste
Frequency
Percent
Valid Percent
Valid
agree
124
93.9
93.9
not sure
8
6.1
6.1
Total
132
100.0
100.0
Acceptance of threat from electronic waste
Statistical conclusion
The above data represents that almost all the people are agree with that e-waste is becoming a concern for us.
How to improve the situation
Frequency
Percent
Valid Percent
Valid
create awareness among people
64
48.5
48.5
create proper e-waste disposal infrastructure
48
36.4
36.4
make tough law for it and ensure that it is implemented properly
20
15.2
15.2
Total
132
100.0
100.0
How to improve the situation
Statistical conclusion
From the above graph we can conclude that most of the people think that to develop a safe e-waste disposal system the most important factor is to create awareness among people about it and also create a proper disposal infrastructure for it.
Responsibility of safe disposal of electronic waste
Frequency
Percent
Valid Percent
Valid
owner
16
12.1
12.1
government
16
12.1
12.1
manufacturer
28
21.2
21.2
all of this above
72
54.5
54.5
Total
132
100.0
100.0
Who is responsible for safe disposal for electronic waste?
Statistical conclusion
The above graph shows that it is not the individual responsibility of owner or government or manufacturer for disposal of e-waste. Most of the people think they must work together for this purpose.
Attitude towards organization's meeting corporate social responsibility
Frequency
Percent
Valid Percent
Valid
yes i agree and will buy product from them
88
66.7
66.7
i agree but not sure about buying from them
44
33.3
33.3
Total
132
100.0
100.0
Attitude towards organization's meeting corporate social responsibility
Statistical conclusion
So the above data suggests that the company meeting the corporate social responsibility tend to have a good image on the mind of the customer and they tend to buy product from that company.
Crosstabs
What is electronic waste? Vs. E-waste concern for us
Relation between knowledge and concern for it
ewaste concern for us
agree
not sure
what is electronic waste
yes
62
4
rough idea
46
4
no idea
16
0
Total
124
8
Relation between knowledge and concern for it
Relation between who concern about e-waste & their attitude towards organization meeting the corporate social responsibility
Concern for e-waste Vs. Organization
CSR
yes i agree and will buy product from them
i agree but not sure about buying from them
e-waste is concern for us
agree
88
36
not sure
0
8
Total
88
44
Concern for e-waste Vs. Organization
Relation between the user not using a collection centre & their readiness of using a third party agency
Readiness to accept a third party agency
ready to accept a third party agency
yes
no
not sure
Not using a collection centre
never thought of it
44
8
12
not our list of priority
20
4
4
inconvenient
8
4
4
Total
72
16
20
Readiness to accept a third party agency
Relation between what is e-waste and awareness of its harmful effect
What is e-waste and awareness of its harmful effect
What is e-waste and awareness of its harmful effect
Relation between awareness of e-waste and preferred methods of recycling
How to recycle e-waste
taking to recycle centre by yourself
giving back to retailers(from where purchased)
send it back to manufacturer
donate it in any collection event
What is electronic waste
yes
22
24
3
17
rough idea
13
21
4
12
no idea
9
3
1
3
Total
44
48
8
32
Relation between awareness of e-waste and Awareness of any government initiative
awareness of e-waste and Awareness of any government initiative
awareness of government initiative
not aware
local body(municipality,district authority)
state government
central government
what is electronic waste
yes
39
9
6
12
rough idea
35
4
5
6
no idea
10
3
1
2
Total
84
16
12
20
Awareness of e-waste and Awareness of any government initiative
Relation between awareness of e-waste and using of e-waste collection centre
awareness of e-waste and using of e-waste collection centre
collection centre use
yes there are and i use
yes there are but i don't use
there are none
not aware if there is any collection centre
what is electronic waste
yes
12
8
22
24
rough idea
7
6
13
24
no idea
5
2
1
8
Total
24
16
36
56
Awareness of e-waste and using of e-waste collection centre
Relation between existence of collection centre and reason for not using a centre
Existence of collection centre and reason for not using a centre
why not using
never thought of it
not our list of priority
inconvenient
presence of collection centre
yes there are but i don't use
8
0
8
there are none
16
16
4
not aware if there is any collection centre
40
12
4
Total
64
28
16
Existence of collection centre and reason for not using a centre
