E-waste management in India | Impact on soil and water

Electronic waste (e-waste) disposal has been a growing concern in India over the past few years. Every year, approximately 2.7 million tonnes of E-waste products are produced all over India, and their disposal becomes a problem too big to ignore. With rapid growth in technology and frequent upgradation of gadgets, recycling practices have taken a backseat and are affecting the overall environment in India.

While these scrap materials are considered a source of livelihood for some, nevertheless, it is of severe risk to human health and specially affects the soil and water quality. The entire process of e-waste management in India is quite underdeveloped and includes heating in acid baths, burning in open fields, and dissolving using chemicals without taking any safety measures. These are often conducted along the bylanes of the cities and ultimately end up affecting the soil and water quality.

How improper biomedical waste management affects the soil

If toxic components are not discarded properly, they can pollute the environment severely. Some of the waste materials present in soil and water are:

• Lead - Usually found in circuit boards and solders

• Cadmium - Found inside rechargeable batteries

• Mercury - Present in broken lamps and switches

• Chromium - Found in metal plates and other corrosion protection materials.

Other toxic chemicals may include Brominated Flame Retardants (BFRs), Polychlorinated biphenyls PCBs, and Dioxins and Furans.

Soil contamination is considered one of the major environmental issues when it comes to solid waste management. So, when electronic devices are dumped in the landfills, they usually enter the surrounding soil and may cause:

• Concentration of heavy metals in soil

• Changing the overall chemical composition of the soil

• Reducing the soil fertility

Various studies have shown that higher levels of toxic chemicals are found in the soil samples of cities in Bengaluru, Mumbai, Chennai, and Delhi.

This continuous process of disposing of e-waste in landfills can reduce the fertility of the soil and hamper the natural balance of nutrients and other microorganisms. This, in turn, can cause

• Poor quality plant growth

• Lower the agricultural productivity

• Contamination of the Food Chain

The process of e-waste contamination from landfill to soil to food is cyclic. When crops are planted in the contaminated soil, toxic metals usually get absorbed by the plants and may be carried forward into the food chain. Hence, what usually happens is:

• Toxic metals accumulate in the soil

• Crops planted absorb these materials

• Animals and humans consume these foods, ultimately causing diseases.

How e-waste affects water quality

E-waste water contamination can severely affect water resources, that includes rivers, lakes, and groundwater.

Groundwater contamination is another important factor when it comes to waste management. Multiple studies conducted stated that in Delhi, the contamination of water was 29 times higher than what was recommended.

Additionally, improper waste management contaminates water bodies and can be done through:

• Discarding e-waste near water bodies like lakes, ponds, and rivers.

• Acidic water entering the water bodies from metal extraction

• Rainwater carrying toxic substances into the river
  

These hazardous wwastescan be fatal for aquatic life and hamper the marine ecosystem.

Waste recycling can minimize e-waste; if not done properly, it can be toxic to the environment. At times, chemical residues are dumped in open lands, or wastewater is discharged without proper treatment. Another reason for the gradual increase of waste material in water is the release of toxins and improper biomedical waste management near water bodies. All these factors, if not checked properly, can cause severe health conditions and environmental pollution.

E-waste effect on human health and the environment

Among the 122 countries dealing with environmental contamination, India ranks 120th as per the Water Quality Index and is among the top 4 nations adversely affected by pesticide soil toxicity. The major reason is the burning of e-waste in open landfills for the extraction of gold and other expensive metals, and the smoke thus produced causes cardiovascular and other pulmonary diseases among children and elderly people. Wind blowing through those areas carrying toxic particles settles into the soil aand entersthe soil-crop-food pathway, thus impacting animals through the food chain.

Additionally, the rising level of mercury levels and improper disposal of waste materials due to the burning of the motherboards of laptop computers can cause

Various types of skin diseases

May harm the central nervous system, ultimately causing impaired hearing, stunted growth, and poor quality of blood cells in the long run. Long-term exposure can cause lung cancer and kidney diseases.

Health Risk and other factors associated with waste management

E-waste collection, transportation, and recycling are carried out by the unorganised sector and often remain unregulated. Thus, there are certain times when they fail to recover items that require attention. Moreover, there are multiple issues regarding the leakage of toxic elements in the environment and the safety of workers' health.

In multiple dumpyards in India, there are adults as well as children working 8-12hours daily and extracting valuable material like gold and copper for recycling. Moreover, they also extract usable parts of e-waste products and recycle them as per their own needs. However, in most cases, most e-waste recyclers use adverse waste disposal methods likeopen incinerationy or acid leaching. What most people fail to understand is that, if on one hand they are getting rid of the toxic materials, on the other hand, they are polluting the environment. Thus, proper awareness and recycling infrastructure pertaining to the prevailing policy are of utmost need.

E-waste Management in India: Challenges and Solutions

The two main stages of recycling e-waste are the collection of the materials and sorting them out accordingly.

Collection of materials is usually done manually, with hands, and includes sieving, purifying, offloading, dismantling, and then segregation.

Mechanical treatments are also involved, that is, shredding the materials and pulverising them using specific methods.

If waste management is a matter of concern, then the challenges are even bigger. Most of the time, plastic, glass, and metal objects are difficult to retrieve as they are discarded improperly. During the recycling process, these toxic materials leak out and contaminate the environment, deteriorate underground water systems, and make it unfit for both agriculture and humans.

In a recent study, itwas shownd that Lead, Mercury, Cadmium, Arsenic, including PCBs and PAH,s were found in the soil of major Indian cities such as Kolkata, Chennai, Mumbai, and New Delhi. It was also observed that most of these sites were close to e-waste management units, which are run by unofficial sectors.

India has limited infrastructure and a vast population; waste management control exceeds the limit at times, as most people are unaware of the hazardous properties. However, several steps can be taken to help reduce e-waste materials on soil and water, such as:

• Improved infrastructure

• Disposing responsibly

• Increase in public awareness

• Strict rules for waste management

• Promotion of eco-friendly products

Conclusion

Waste management is nowadays considered one of the fastest-growing environmental concerns in India. Inappropriate disposal of e-waste materials, exposed recycling practices, and the release of toxins into the soil and water have aggravated the situation to a greater extent.

More people need to come forward, and proper methods of plastic recycling, waste disposal, and solid waste management must be adopted by the people. Side by side, addressing these problems in India with innovative technology, public awareness, and proper recycling systems will help us to reduce the hazardous waste and thus pave the way for a sustainable future for the generation to come.