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Environmental deterioration and health risk due to improper e-waste management has become a serious issue in India. The major portion of e-waste reaches an unorganized e-waste recycling sector and is then treated by using crude methods. This review article presents a brief highlight on e-waste management status, legislation, and technology uses in India. The present e-waste management needs to be more focused on environmentally sound management, by more active support from all the participants involved in the e-waste flow chain in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globally, electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) is now a part of daily life. When this equipment becomes waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE or E-waste), however, it needs to be properly processed, for use as a source of materials for future production and renewable energy, and to minimize both the exploitation of raw materials and the deleterious effects on both the environment and human health. A large quantity of e-waste is generated in both India and China, and both countries still suffer from an entrenched informal e-waste processing sector. Consequently, valuable materials in e-waste are disposed in open land, rather than being properly extracted for reuse and recycling. In this article we note that the major portion of e-waste in China and India is collected by the informal sector and treated with primitive methods. Additionally, illegal shifting agents also play a role by mislabeling e-waste and exporting them to developing countries. This article proposes that: the implementation of e-waste management laws and policies for proper e-waste collection, treatment and recycling, better educate consumers on the dangers of e-waste contamination, restrict the illegal movement of e-waste across borders, and support the development of a formal, regulated e-waste processing industry by funding incentive programs constructing recycling infrastructure. These measures should increase the recycling capacity and decrease the amount of WEEE contaminating the environment and endangering human health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Informal recycling of waste (including e-waste) is an emerging source of environmental pollution in India. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polychlorinated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), and heavy metals, among other substances, are a major health concern for workers engaged in waste disposal and processing, and for residents living near these facilities, and are also a detriment to the natural environment. The main objective of this review article was to evaluate the status of these impacts. The review found that, huge quantity of e-waste/waste generated, only a small amount is treated formally; the remainder is processed through the informal sector. We also evaluated the exposure pathways, both direct and indirect, and the human body load markers (e.g., serum, blood, breast milk, urine, and hair), and assessed the evidence for the association between these markers and e-waste exposure. Our results indicated that the open dumping and informal e-waste recycling systems should be replaced by the best available technology and environmental practices, with proper monitoring and regular awareness programs for workers and residents. Further and more detailed investigation in this area is also recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid growth of the production of electrical and electronic products has meant an equally rapid growth in the amount of electronic waste (e-waste), much of which is illegally imported to India, for disposal presenting a serious environmental challenge. The environmental impact during e-waste recycling was investigated and metal as well as other pollutants [e.g. polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)] were found in excessive levels in soil, water and other habitats. The most e-waste is dealt with as general or crudely often by open burning, acid baths, with recovery of only a few materials of value. As resulted of these process; dioxins, furans, and heavy metals are released and harmful to the surrounding environment, engaged workers, and also residents inhabiting near the sites. The informal e-waste sectors are growing rapidly in the developing countries over than in the developed countries because of cheapest labor cost and week legislations systems. It has been confirmed that contaminates are moving through the food chain via root plant translocation system, to the human body thereby threatening human health. We have suggested some possible solution toward in which plants and microbes combine to remediate highly contaminated sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]