E-waste literally means Electronic Waste or waste related to electronic equipments. These wastes are an important issue to be discussed and need to be taken seriously as it is becoming a major problem in the society. E-waste or Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipments (WEEE) are those wastes which are discarded items, broken electrical appliances or devices, batteries, lighting equipments, communication equipments and many more. There is less knowledge on how to recycle in proper manner as most of the people are not aware of the benefits of recycling the various items. But when recycled, these E-wastes can contain materials that have a huge economic value in the market. Electrical and Electronic Equipments (EEE) is divided into three main categories-Household appliances such as (refrigerators and washing machines, information technology (IT), telecom tools and equipments- computers, laptops, monitors and other input and output devices and consumer equipments- TV’s, DVD players, mobile phones and so on.
The improper method of e-waste recycling can lead to indirect exposure which may have a negative impact on the soil, air and water around the recycling sites. Recycling is the only key to reduce the e-Waste. E-waste has become one of the most critical waste disposal issues of the twenty-first century.
When we look at the different waste in our own household, we notice that a lot of electronic and electrical appliances tend to take a lot of space and when damaged or broken, our mind gets in a dilemma on whether to repair, keep or throw it away. We the people have the tendency to store those unused and broken items thinking that it will become useful one day. However these wastes are becoming a domestic problem on the environment as well as on our health. In this fast world of technology we are all responsible in producing e-waste in one or the other way but it is in our hands to come up with a solution and to apply it accordingly. The Management Rule 2016 which is now termed it as Management Amendment Rules 2018 informs us about the salient features of E- Waste to the public in general but most of the people are not well aware about it. Major steps need to be taken while recycling the waste and safety measures need to be implemented.
Therefore certain effort is coming up and need to be taken seriously in order to tackle the situation where people can recycle and utilise the used, unwanted, or obsolete materials as industrial feedstock or for new materials or products, we can do our part to make recycling work instead of polluting the environment. Educating the people on understanding about how to reduce, reuse and recycle and dispose electronics at all levels will help the people know how to behave more responsibly towards the environment as electronic waste is a global problem requiring a global solution. Reusing of secondhand electrical and electronic devices should be encouraged to every individual to extend the lifespan for future generations.
Petekhrienuo Kulnu
Mass Communication Student
Nagaland University, Lumami
