Study on E-Waste Management Alternatives for Bangalore city

E-waste is one of the fastest growing waste streams in India due to increasing “market penetration” in developing countries, “replacement market” in developed countries and “high obsolescence rate”. The composition of e-waste is very diverse and differs in products across different categories. It contains more than a 1000 different substances, which fall under “hazardous” and “nonhazardous” categories. E-wastes are considered dangerous, as certain components of some electronic products contain materials that are hazardous, depending on their condition and density. The hazardous content of these materials pose a threat to human health and environment. E-waste consists of ferrous and non-ferrous metals, plastics, glass, wood and plywood, circuit boards, concrete and ceramics, rubber and other items. Iron and steel constitutes about 50% of the e-waste followed by plastics (21%), non ferrous metals (13%) and other constituents 16%. Non-ferrous metals consist of metals like copper, aluminium and precious metals like silver, gold, platinum, palladium etc. The presence of elements like lead, mercury, arsenic, cadmium, selenium, and hexavalent chromium and flame retardants beyond threshold quantities in e-waste classifies them as hazardous waste. Many of these products can be reused, refurbished, or recycled in an environmentally sound manner so that they are less harmful to the ecosystem. This paper highlights appropriate management options that can be implemented for the management of e-waste in the study area of Bangalore.