E-Waste: Main Source of Income for Rag Pickers in India

Topics:	India Rag Pickers
Words:	448
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Such kind of wastes encircles wide range of electrical and electronic devices like computers, mobile phones, stereos, it also includes large household appliances such as refrigerators, air conditioners etc. According to Sinha Khetriwal, “e-waste can be classified as any electrical powered appliance that has reached its end of life”. In other words, e-waste refers to any goods which are electronic in nature and has reached its end of life.

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The current Indian e-waste related scenario is different from the worldwide. E-waste comes from retailers and manufacturers. E-waste is a serious issue as its recycling is not done in a proper and appropriate manner. Movement of e-waste in India is very tough and also there is no device and strategy to check the movement of e-waste in the economy. This is important to explain that despite of international agreements, e-waste from developed countries is sent to developing countries like India. 65 cities in India produces more than 60% of the total e-waste. 10 states generate 70% of the total e-waste out of which some are Maharashtra followed by Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Delhi, Karnataka, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Punjab. In case of Public corporations, 22% of the e-waste is produced by households and 78% by the business sector. It is because 83% of household consumers are first time buyers. So most of the waste is generated by business sector only. About 1050 tonnes per year of computer waste produced by retailers and manufacturers. There are 2 small e-waste pulling apart facilities functioning in Chennai and Bangalore. There is no large scale organized sector which recycles e-waste in India and the entire recycling management is in the hands of unorganized sector. In India, probably the e-waste is given to the rag pickers who pay some amount to the customer from whom they are collecting the waste. The rag pickers (also known as kabadiwala) collect all kind of waste like papers, books, newspapers, plastic, cardboard, polythene, metals, etc. which also includes e-waste, and these wastes are a source of income for rag pickers and middlemen or scrap dealers too. E-waste is mostly handled by unskilled workers and so proper safety measures are not taken by them while handling the wastes. Disposal and recycling of e-waste is not properly done due to lack of appropriate technology. Also, very few companies are there which have implemented „take back‟ system willingly.

There is no clear data of the quantity of wastes which are generated and disposed of each year. According to the literature review it is revealed that only about 50% of the public are aware of environmental and health impacts of the electronic items. Hence, there is an urgent need of implementation of proper e-waste management system in India.

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E-Waste: Main Source of Income for Rag Pickers in India. (2023, February 01). Edubirdie. Retrieved May 8, 2024, from https://edubirdie.com/examples/e-waste-main-source-of-income-for-rag-pickers-in-india/

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E-Waste: Main Source of Income for Rag Pickers in India. [online]. Available at: <https://edubirdie.com/examples/e-waste-main-source-of-income-for-rag-pickers-in-india/> [Accessed 8 May 2024].

E-Waste: Main Source of Income for Rag Pickers in India [Internet]. Edubirdie. 2023 Feb 01 [cited 2024 May 8]. Available from: https://edubirdie.com/examples/e-waste-main-source-of-income-for-rag-pickers-in-india/

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