CHENNAI : Ever wondered what happens to that old computer monitor you got rid of while replacing it with the latest LCD monitor?

Chances are that it might have found its way to a recycle vendor in North Chennai and despite his efforts to extract copper from it using crude methods; most components would end up in the dumping grounds causing pollution.

It is not a case of just managing electronic waste (e-waste) produced. Speakers at a seminar on "e-waste" organised by the C.P.R. Environmental Education Centre on Thursday pointed out that more than 80 per cent of the "e-waste" generated in the developed countries find their way to China, India and Pakistan.

At a time of decreasing shelf life of electronic products, experts pointed out that there was an urgent need to address the issue of e-waste. State Governments and local bodies that handle solid waste must look at setting up a separate process chain for e-waste.

K.S.Sudhakar of Toxics Link, a non-governmental organisation working in fields of environment and conservation said, it was possible to scientifically recover copper and lead from e-waste and minimise the hazardous waste from reaching the landfill. But what was happening now was crude recovery of metals by burning them. Such methods released toxins endangering the lives of the people involved in the activity.

He further added that in the developed countries, the responsibility for recycling e-waste was with the producers. "Companies regularly announce `take back' campaigns to replace their old products. This way they ensure that obsolete electronic products do not reach the dumping grounds. They recycle and reuse several components. But the very companies that follow this programme in the West, do not do so in India.

Their double standards are too obvious as they treat us as a dumping ground," Mr. Sudhakar said.

Other speakers, including Kurian Joseph of the Centre for Environmental Studies, Anna University, and P. Saiprasad of the Environmental Training Institute, Tamilnadu Pollution Control Board, said the Central Government was working on a legislation on e-waste and hoped that stringent laws would come to effect soon.

They appealed to the public to demand information from dealers on `take back' deals. K.S.Neelakantan, Director, Department of Environment, delivered the keynote address and gave away prizes to the winners of the inter-school/college competitions organised by C.P.R.Centre. Nandita C. Krishna, honorary secretary of the centre, welcomed the gathering.

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