As most of you know, India has one of the largest clandestine economies in the world. A major part of this revolves around the recycling and reusing of trash collected in junkyards and dumps. The city of Moradabad, located in northern India, receives about half of the total electronic waste (e-waste) generated by India. In its slums, thousands of people live off e-waste. More specifically, they use various techniques to extract different metals from circuits found in phones, televisions, computers, monitors, keyboards, remote controls, radios etc.
In Moradabad, also known as peetal nagri , the brass city, different families are specialized in different steps of the process: some use blow torches to heat the circuits until the soldering breaks down and different parts separate, some dip the pieces in acid, while others simply burn them. Needless to say, the process is hazardous and can be very dangerous, but a day’s work will earn a family around 300 Rupees, which is enough to attract thousands.
However, last April the Indian Government announced a new law that will aim to regulate the e-waste clandestine market in order to reduce pollution derived from such waste. Their goal is to only allow officially licensed facilities to treat e-waste. This could have strong implications for these people as they could be forced to find a new means to subsist, most likely having to migrate elsewhere. According to MAIT, an organization regrouping several large electronics companies, and GTZ, an organization whose purpose is to promote sustainable development on a global scale, over 90% of e-waste generated in India end up in clandestine markets.
Many international companies also look to India when deciding how to rid itself of old electronic equipment. Some do it through said licensed companies to promote a environmentally-responsible image, while others deal with the clandestine market to cut-down costs.
If this law is effective, it should significantly reduce pollution derived from e-waste, but many families will have to find a new way to make ends meet. Ultimately, this will take some time to take effect and many are skeptical in regards to the government’s ability to implement the law and effectively funnel all activities to licensed entities.
- Michael Harroch
This government approved e-waste “regulation” initiative seems like a suspiciously convenient way to gain a short–term profit, while gentrifying these slum areas. By only allowing officially licensed facilities to treat this waste, the Indian government will see increased revenues as this enormous recycling market is taken over by formalized businesses who pay taxes. Also, by taking away the slum residents’ primary means of making a living, the Indian government will be forcing many of them to seek job opportunities elsewhere. Policymakers in India have long been trying to “beautify” the slums that serve as eyesores in many of their largest metropolitan areas. Many of the Indian government’s redevelopment plans include proposals for gentrifying slum areas. The government calls it rehabilitation, but these redevelopment plans are, for the most part, underhanded means of pushing out the millions of poor slum residents from India’s major cities.
It is a very clever tactic for the government to mask its intentions of gentrification with the seemingly noble cause of making the informal recycling business of slums an environmentally friendly sustainable process. I agree that allowing these environmental and regulatory organizations to take over the recycling process would in all likelihood reduce the pollution output. However, it is hard for me to believe that the government does not have some ulterior motives behind this initiative. The government is well aware that recycling allows many of these slum residents to make a living. I find it very unjust that the same government, whose failed economic development planning led to the initial establishment of slums, is now supporting a proposal that would rob these slum residents of their primary means of livelihood. Rather than seeking a more amicable solution, the government is taking the easy way out by only looking at the potential short-term gains.
The only reason that families living in slums process these materials is to make a profit. At best, the law is ineffective if it is not enforceable. At worst, the law may prove a double-edged sword by removing the livelihood many slum families through cost of licensing. The Indian government is simply trading societal stability for environmental gain. I think that a better alternative would be to employ these families in facilities that will reduce emissions instead of displacing them. After all, it is profitable.
I hope the law is effective because improper disposal of e-waste is very dangerous. These people are killing themselves if they are burning electronics all day, the fumes are toxic. If 90% of all e-waste ends up in clandestine markets then current laws are ineffective. Businesses will go with the cheapest option and slum dwellers need money, a combination that will be hard to break. The new laws will need to address both parties needs if it is to be effective, otherwise both businesses and slum dwellers will do what they need to make money.
This is a difficult problem facing the entire world right now. Everyone wants to have the newest electronic device, but no one wants to worry about where all the old electronics end up as e-waste. Some e-waste is recycled in developed countries, but a vast amount is sent to third world countries like India to deal with. India needs to find a way to create a win-win-win situation out of this with the government, citizens, and environment benefiting.
E-waste can either be seen as a problem or a solution. If looked at as a solution, I think everyone can benefit. Currently it seems that a lot of the e-waste in India ends up as air pollution and some money for the people willing to deal with it. If India were to implement an efficient recycling program that salvaged valuable materials like rare earths, then recycled the metals, plastics, and glass, it would probably be profitable. The government could employ people, and pay them well while keeping e-waste out of the landfill and air. I am not sure how current e-waste recycling works, but what I have outlined seems simple enough.
As India continues to grow, and more of its people rise out of poverty and enter the middle class, there will be a lot of pressure on the government to make big changes. This is definitely one of them. With climate change and the environment being such hot topics these days, it is no wonder that the Indian government is trying to step in on the issue of e-waste and its proper disposal. The big question is whether or not they will be able to do it effectively. Proper recycling does need to occur or else the pollution and health problems will persist. (See article below.) However, the other point of contention is what it will do to the underground economy in India. If the government is to begin regulating the disposal of this refuse, then it must also do something to mitigate the economic impact regulations will have on those who rely on e-waste to make a living.
To weaken the economic impact regualtory laws like this one will have on the economy, the government needs to focus on better skills training and job creation for those living below the poverty line. As we have seen in a number of other postings, there are efforts to educate the rural and lower classes, as the spreading of knowledge will help them rise out of poverty. However, these efforts must become more concerted.
http://news.discovery.com/tech/indias-poor-risk-slow-death-recycling-e-waste.htm