I. Introduction 

Although, environmental pollution is said to be as old as the emergence of homo sapiens on the earth, the scientific and technological progress of man has invested him with immense power over nature and indiscriminate use of this power has resulted in endless and senseless encroachment on nature. Unfortunately, man by his failure to live in harmony with nature has brought humanity to the brink of a global  environmental catastrophe. Man’s greed attacks nature, environment and ecology and wounded nature backlashes on the human future[1]. Environment protection and its preservation is today the major concern all over the world. The environment proves that all the human activities on this earth are inter-connected. So much so that an environmental damage in the boundaries of one State has transborder ramifications. Environmental destruction and pollution has seriously threatened the human life, health and livelihood. This deleterious effect on the human beings was appreciated very soon in India and environment protection concerns can be found in the major literatures of ancient  India. A great stress was laid down upon preservation and protection of the environment so that it can pass as a valuable resource from generation to generation. With the advent of industrialisation, globalisation and urbanisation and with the increase in the population, a greater pressure on the environment was asserted. It was exploited on a speed and rate higher that its regeneration. It was felt that if human beings have to survive, the environment has to be protected on a priority basis. At the international level, various Treaties and Conventions were adopted to regulate the misuse and exploitation of the environment. The Constitutions of many countries were amended to incorporate these changes. Various principles like Polluter Pays Principle, Precautionary Principle, etc were developed to give environment its due. The best shift was towards the concept of “Sustainable Development” that allows use of environment within tolerable limits and at the same time allowing the growing needs of development. The right to wholesome environment has been raised to the status of a Human Right and Fundamental Right. To give this benign drive a thrust, the benevolent concept of Public Interest Litigation has been used liberally in favour of environment protection. There is, however, a need to preserve and protect environment on a voluntary basis. This is expected more from companies operating in India as they are in a better position to protect and preserve the environment. The resources,  technology and expertise they possess can protect environment in its most benign form. They can anticipate possible environmental disasters and wrongs and can take a timely action. Thus, the “preventive approach” must be preferred over “curative approach” as certain environmental damages are irreversible in nature. This is the reason why the environmental jurisprudence in India shifted from “strict liability” to “absolute liability”. The absolute liability, unlike strict liability, does not consider any exceptions that may be used to avoid liability arising out of environment damages. This need of “absolute liability” originates from the use of hazardous substances for the production purposes. The  same also comes into picture where these hazardous substances are otherwise dealt with other than production purposes, i.e. dismantling or recycling purposes. One such  hazardous activity is the management of “e-waste”. 

II. The concept of e-waste

 E-waste is a popular, informal name for electronic products nearing the end of their \"useful life.\" Computers, televisions, VCRs, stereos, copiers, and fax machines are common electronic products. Many of these products can be reused, refurbished, or recycled. 

Unfortunately, electronic discards is one of the fastest growing segments of our nation\'s waste stream. Rapid obsolescence of electronics goods, compounded by dumping from developed countries, has brought the e-waste problem in India to the brink of spilling over into an acute crisis. The communities that are affected by the toxics in e-waste need not necessarily be those that are creating the waste. The unethical export of e-waste by industrialised nations to developing countries is shifting  the onus of development to communities ill-equipped to deal with such waste. A lot of these materials are being sent to developing nations under the guise of reuse—to bridge the digital divide.

III. International perspective 

The Basel Convention defines waste by its disposal destination or  recovery processes. These various processes are listed in Annexure IV of the Convention. For example, virtually any material that will be recycled or processed in order to reclaim a metal, or to reclaim an organic or inorganic substance for further use, is deemed a waste. Electronic components that are used without further processing are not likely to be defined as a waste. The Convention has provided for two lists. List A, found in Annexure VII, is presumed to be hazardous and thus covered by the Basel Convention; and List B, found in Annexure IX, is presumed to be non-hazardous and thus not subject to the Basel Convention. The waste listed in List A is waste that poses serious threats to environment and human health. As a result of their adverse effects these substances require special handling and disposal processes. The Annexure VIII hazardous waste list has the following entries applicable to e-waste:

 A1180: Waste electrical and electronic assemblies or scrap containing components such as accumulators and other batteries included in List A, mercury-switches, glass from cathode-ray tubes and other activated glass,  and PCB-capacitors, or contaminated with Annex I constituents (for example, cadmium, mercury, lead, polychlorinated biphenyl) to an extent that they possess any of the characteristics contained in Annexure III. From the above we can gather that at the  very least, circuit boards, CRTs, and other electronic boards or components and assemblies containing lead based solders and copper beryllium alloys (which include most computer circuit boards and much other electronic equipment), are indeed hazardous wastes according to the Basel Convention. Likewise, whole, used, discarded computers, printers, and monitors that contain such circuit boards or CRTs that are not to be re-used directly are to be considered as hazardous waste and subject to the Basel Convention. To date, the United States is the only developed country in the world that has not ratified the Basel Convention. In fact, US officials have actively worked to defeat and weaken the Basel waste export ban. The US government policies appear to be designed to promote sweeping the e-waste problem out the Asian back door. Not only has the US refused to ratify the Basel Convention and Ban, but in fact, the United States government has intentionally exempted e-waste materials, within the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, from the minimal laws that do exist (requiring prior notification of hazardous waste shipments) to protect importing countries.

 The 160-State Basel Convention is the world\'s most comprehensive environmental agreement on hazardous and other wastes. Governments are expected to minimize the generation of hazardous wastes, treat and dispose of wastes as close as possible to their place of generation and reduce the quantities  transported. The proper implementation of the Basel Convention ensures that hazardous e-waste be managed in an environmentally sound manner as it provides the tools for the  transparency and traceability of e-wastes destined for recycling or recovery. The development of international resource recycling systems would have to be combined with a mechanism capable of monitoring such systems to ensure their accountability. That could not be achieved, however, without intensified international efforts to help developing countries strengthen their capacity to implement the Convention.