Delhi could be global e-waste capital

Maneesh Pandey / TNN / Aug 2, 2006, 01:13 IST

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As many as 900 PCs and 3,500 TV sets are dismantled in the city every day for reuse of their component materials.

NEW DELHI: India's capital is emerging as the world's capital for e-waste recycling, a hazardous activity taking place without any regulations, warns a new study.
As many as 900 personal computers and 3,500 TV sets are dismantled in the city every day for reuse of their component parts and materials.
Conservative estimates put the annual volume of e-waste — the junk produced by discarded electronic equipment — in Delhi at around 10,000 metric tonnes, but experts say the actual figure is even higher.
"Delhi alone gets around 70% of the electronic waste generated in the developed world. 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. The industry directly employs about 15,000 people in organised recycling units. In 2012, it will reach up to 20,000 MT per year," says Ravi Agarwal of NGO Toxics Link which conducted the study.

Adds Amit Jain of IRG Systems, which did a similar study earlier, "The e-waste figures for Delhi will be even higher if you add the soaring mobile handsets to this list. Delhi may surpass Mumbai soon."
The study notes that though Mumbai and Chennai are the top importers of junk computers and electronic waste in India, Delhi has emerged as the hub of e-waste recycling in India, and perhaps the world.
The e-waste imported into Mumbai and Chennai mostly makes its way to Delhi as there is a ready market for glass and plastic in the NCR.

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