Upgrading to the latest versions of mobile phones, tablets and laptops has become a norm in these ‘Digital India’ days. But, what does one do with the old devices? Often, defunct or outdated gadgets get stashed away in cupboards, draws and lofts. And, during spring cleaning drives, they end up in junk.
Experts, for long, have been flagging the rising menace of e-waste, which can cause environmental harm. The reason, they note, is the lack of awareness among the public. How much of the e-waste gets properly collected and recycled? A recent study done by a researcher at Cusat’s School of Management Studies found that of the 988 households in Kochi that participated in the survey, 272 respondents were unaware of e-waste, at least 187 were unaware of its consequences, and only 11 had utilised formal recycling services in the past three years.
Notably, the resistance to recycling e-waste was found to be at a lower rate among women and older adults. “There is a lack of awareness. During the study, we found many people show resistance towards recycling e-waste,” says Mohammed Sajid, a doctoral scholar, who co-authored the paper with Dr Zakariya K A.
“Another issue is the dearth of adequate collection/recycling centres. Many people find taking the waste to the formal collection centres, which are very few in numbers, a tedious task. So, when a scrap dealer comes knocking on their doors, they sell their e-waste to them. To be precise, not many people are willing to recycle their defunct gadgets.”
‘No system in place’
Clean Kerala Company e-waste nodal officer S S Nageshkumar says around 1,800 tonnes of e-waste were collected in the state from 2014 to 2022. “However, the volume of e-waste generated is more. A huge chunk does not reach recycling centres,” he adds.
Currently, the e-waste that the company collects and sends for recycling is majorly from government departments and office complexes. “The amount of e-waste coming from the public is near to zero,” he said.
“E-waste collected from Thiruvananthapuram constitutes 25-30 per cent of the total volume. Ernakulam comes second with about 20 per cent. The reason why Thiruvananthapuram records such a high figure is because most government offices are located in the state capital.”
Another top sector is education. “We conduct collection drives at institutions. Drives are also conducted at government departments,” says Nageshkumar.
No recycling centre
Clean Kerala Company’s role is limited to the collection of e-waste, explains Nageshkumar. Kerala doesn’t have an authorised recycling facility, he adds. “We have been authorised by the state government to collect e-waste. The waste collected is stored in our warehouses from where it is sold to agencies for recycling after floating tenders,” he adds.
“E-waste is sold to the highest bidder. The tenders are floated on an annual basis. This is because the rates of e-waste fluctuate, and we are a company that runs on purely a business model. We don’t get any funds from the state government.”
When it comes to collecting e-waste from the public, the state government has entrusted the task to Haritha Karma Sena and local self-government bodies. “As of now, the system is in its fledgling stage. We also don’t have collection centres, per se. We gather e-waste through many campaigns that we hold frequently,” says Nageshkumar.
“But once a system comes in place, a lot can be achieved in preventing the e-waste from ending up with people who are not authorised to deal with such materials,” he adds.
What about data security?
Another potential barrier the researchers found is that many people are worried about data theft. “Of course, that is a big issue,” says Jiyas Jamal, a cyber security lawyer. “Usually, when a user’s mobile phone or laptop stops functioning, the service centres tell them that they can buy a new one for the money required to repair the gadget. So, the person discards the damaged gadget,” he says. Now, here lies the danger.
“Though the device has gone kaput, most of the applications might remain open. A person who knows his way around these gadgets can easily retrieve the data.
This is what the sleuths at cyber forensics do,” he adds. And Nageshkumar says as of now, the company doesn’t have any facility to wipe out the data stored in the gadgets. “The government departments and educational institutions remove the hard disks before disposing of the devices. Another step is to use physical means like hammering the device. Once the devices are smashed, they automatically lose all data stored,” he says.