Mobile Phone Shipments Predicted to Decline
E-waste has been named as one of the biggest potential environmental disasters with the world producing 40 million tons of e-waste every year.
Tons of e-waste make its way abroad to developing countries joining the piles of used electronics already in line for disposal. Without proper e-waste recycling standards set in place, these countries and their citizens are at risk of coming into contact with the hazardous materials found in electronics.
According to a study conducted by the United Nations, “by 2020, e waste from computers would dramatically increase by 500 percent and discarded mobile phones will increase 18 times from 2007 levels in India.”
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, has partnered with Attero to start initiatives for proper e-waste recycling in India. Attero, which is Latin for waste, is India’s largest electronics asset management company.
An article from Waste Management World reported that “IFC has invested $5 million to help Attero develop a range of recycling assets.”
Not to mention, 15 electronic goods manufacturers, including Samsung, HCL, Videocon, Haier and Philips, have signed up for the cause to bring responsible e-waste recycling to India.
Similarly to other largely populated countries, India produces approximately 800,000 tons of e-waste per year. Project Clean E-India will not only train employees, but also set up collection centers and raise public awareness of the dangers of improper electronics recycling.
Nitin Gupta, CEO & Co-Founder of Attero, expressed his thoughts on how India is on its way to becoming the leader in responsible recycling and e-waste management. His first reasoning is the 2012 government policy that encourages responsible recycling. The second condition is the advanced technology that has already been developed and patented for IT asset disposal in an environmentally-sound manner, while also providing high economic return.
Running a course of three years and impacting about 1.5 million people in four cities – Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, and Hyderabad, the Clean E-India project is one step closer to incorporating responsible recycling and proper e-waste management to developing countries.
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