India to generate 1.5 lakh tonne e-waste a year by 2020

NEW DELHI: India needs to sharpen focus on e-waste recycling and disposal as it is expected to generate about 1.5 lakh tonne of wastage from the use of electronics every year by 2020, IT hardware industry body MAIT said today.

It also stressed the need for creating greater awareness among people on dealing with e-waste.

"India, being a geographically complex country, the task of creating awareness about e-waste is an exigent task. This effort also assumes importance as it is expected that the country will generate about 1,50,000 tonne per year of e-waste by 2020," MAIT said in a statement.

The Manufacturers' Association for Information Technology organised a workshop in partnership with the Ministry of Environment & Forests (MoEF) and Central Pollution Control Board and Dataserv APAC in Noida today.

"Electronics industry is growing exponentially and with rapid advancements in technology and rise in demand and rate of technological obsolescence. We all face a new challenge of e-waste," MoEF Director Chhanda Chowdhury said.

The main challenge is to bring informal sector into the mainstream of e-waste management, he said, adding that workshops like these should be organised in many states to create awareness about e-waste management rules.

"This workshop targets the bulk consumers with an aim of training organisations to spread wider awareness about e-waste management," MAIT Executive Director Anwar Shirpurwala said.

This agenda can only be achieved if bulk consumers of electrical and electronic equipments accept responsibility to follow the e-waste rules and channelise it through authorised collection centres or recyclers, he added.

MoEF had notified e-Waste Rules in May 2011, which came into force with effect from May 1, 2012.