EnviroXchange - Category Detail

WEEE - Ewaste

What is e-waste?

Electronic Waste – or e-waste – is the term used to describe old, end-of-life electronic appliances such as computers,laptops, TVs, DVD players, mobile phones, mp3 players etc. which have been disposed of by their original users. While there is no generally accepted definition of e-waste, in most cases, e-waste comprises of relatively expensive and essentially durable products used for data processing, telecommunications or entertainment in private households and businesses.

Public perception of e-waste is often restricted to a narrower sense, comprising mainly of end-of-life information- & telecommunication equipment and consumer electronics. However, technically, electronic waste is only a subset of WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment). According to the OECD any appliance using an electric power supply that has reached its end-of-life would come under WEEE.

In this web-based eWaste Guide we define all appliances running on electricity that have no function anymore as e-waste and use WEEE and e-waste synonymously.

WEEE Categories

Large household appliances
Small household appliances
IT and telecommunications equipment
Consumer equipment
Lighting equipment
Electrical and electronic tools (with the exception of large-scale stationary industrial tools)
Toys, leisure and sports equipment
Medical devices (with the exception of all implanted and infected products)
Monitoring and control instruments
Automatic dispensers

WEEE Management Challenges in India

The challenges of managing e-waste in India are very different from those in other countries, developed or developing. While there can be several shared lessons, the complexity of the e-waste issue in India, given its vast geographical and cultural diversity and economic disparities, makes WEEE management challenges in India quite unique. A few of these are:

Rapidly increasing e-waste volumes, both domestically generated as well as through imports. Imports are often disguised as second-hand comptuer donations towards bridging the digital divide or simply as metal scrap.

No accurate estimates of the quantity of e-waste generated and recycled.

Low level of awareness amongst manufacturers and consumers of the hazards of incorrect e-waste disposal.

Widespread e-waste recycling in the informal sector using rudimentary techniques such as acid leaching and open air burning resulting in severe environmental damage