India - Graveyard for hazardous wastes

Any development has to pay a price in terms of generation of waste, which needs to be safely disposed. The waste may be chemical from chemical and metallurgical industries and power plants, electronic waste (e-waste), plastic scraps, radioactive waste from nuclear industries, etc. Unless there is well established methods for safe management of the waste, the waste will find its way into the environment and pollute our water bodies, pollute the air we breathe and contaminate the food we eat. In fact, in nuclear industry, the waste management aspect is well established and care is taken at the design stage itself, and provisions are made for the safe disposal of the radioactive waste generated.

India generates about 48 lakh tons of non-radioactive waste hazardous waste in a year. The wastes consist of clinical waste, toxic heavy metals such as mercury, arsenic, cadmium, chromium, & lead, scrap plastics such as pet bottles, etc. The import is banned under the Indian and international law. It is reported that over 2.5 billion rupees worth of the hazardous waste was imported illegally in India in 2006-07.

The situation is not different in case of electronic wastes generated due to consumables such as PCs, cell phones, photocopiers, radios and televisions. The average life span of a PC is reported to be just 2 years. It is estimated that about one lakh tons of e-waste is generated in India every year. Mumbai alone produces more than 11,000 tons of the e-waste in a year. As on today, recycling of the waste is done in working conditions which are not safe for the workers and the environment. The matter is compounded due to the presence of organics such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), which may be carcinogenic. The situation is very grave in cities like Mumbai where the waste volume generated is very high and increasing every year.

There is an urgent need for establishing a system for collection, handling, recycling and safe disposal of this waste. People are looking at the Government regulators such as State Pollution Control Boards for tackling this all important issue.