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Assocham for banning e-waste

NEW DELHI: The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) has proposed a ban on e-waste dumping in and around Delhi, particularly from Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, to help it retain its natural beauty and also bring out effective legislation to prevent entry of child labour into its collection, segregation and distribution.

Mooted for the Delhi Government, the proposal emphasis that over 2,000 trucks ferry e-waste into the Capital and dump it in the city’s scrap yards particularly in the Loni, Seelampur and Mandoli areas. The ASSOCHAM observed that over 5,000 child labour between the age group of 10 to 15 years were engaged in various e-waste activities, without adequate protection and safeguards in Delhi’s yards and recycling workshops.

“E-waste imported into Mumbai, Chennai and Bangalore mostly makes its way to Delhi as there is ready market for glass and plastic here. In fact, waste from Mumbai constitute a bulk of the 60-70 tonnes discarded electronics that land in Delhi’s scarp yards everyday,” said ASSOCHAM secretary general D. S. Rawat.

Estimates also reveal that Delhi alone gets 20 per cent of the e-waste generated in the developed world which comes through cheaper imports. In terms of total e-waste produced internally or brought from outside for recycling, Delhi’s e-waste weighs between 10,000 and 12,000 metric tonnes per year which has acquired a dimension of industry that employs nearly 30,000 workers in city’s various scarp yards and various unauthorised recycling units.

ASSOCHAM has suggested that the Delhi Government should plant more than 10-12 lakh saplings every year near the scarp yards units and industrial centres to minimise the environmental hazards arising out of e-waste, medical and industrial wastes.

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