Charging your scrap dealer to take away old CDs and bargaining for a good deal on a computer could well be a thing of the past, if a government e-waste management policy comes into effect. With the recent recommendations of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) on having effective disposal of e-waste, Companies might just start charging you for taking back electronic and electrical equipment. With 3.3 lakh tonne of electronic waste generated in India in 2007 and about 50,000 tonne being illegally imported as estimated by the Manufacturers' Association for Information Technology (MAIT) and GTZ or German Technical Cooperation Agency, e-waste is a mounting problem in the country. This waste is likely to be more than 8,00,000 tonne by 2012, according to CPCB. Electronic waste is defined as waste material consisting of any broken or unwanted electrical or electronic appliances, according to the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directive of the European Commission. Only 5% of the e-waste is recycled in India, adds Vinnie Mehta, executive director, MAIT. Televisions, refrigerators, microwaves, mobiles and computers contain about 1,000 types of different substances. Many of these substances are hazardous to health and the environment and need to be disposed of carefully after the gadget has lived its life. This is where the problem creeps in, says Gopal Purdhani, chairman, Indian Institute of Materials Management (IIMM), Delhi. He adds, "There is no proper mechanism in place for disposal of e-waste. States have been trying hard to have it in place, though.' According to an IIMM estimate, about two million units of obsolete computers originate from government offices, business houses, industries and households are. Besides, around 1,200 tonne of electronic scrap is estimated to be produced by manufacturers and assemblers in a calendar year. Such figures worry Priti Mahesh, a senior programme officer at Delhi-based NGO Toxics Link. "There has been a digital revolution of sorts in the past few years. The number of mobile consumers has gone up. People in satellite towns are also buying plasma TVs and Companies are buying more computers.' She adds, "Similarly, more and more electronic and electrical goods are discarded. But there is no government policy in place on the disposal method or recycling of these discarded gadgets. There are some corporates that have e-waste management policies in place, but there are others that don't. There needs to be a level playing field.' But the ball has probably been set rolling. For example, some Companies like HCL, Sun Microsystems and WeP Peripherals Ltd already have an e-waste management policy in place. HCL Infosystems started e-waste management in 2005. It became the first IT products manufacturing company to get an ISO 14001 certification in India. Talking about their e-waste management policy, George Paul, executive vice-president, marketing, HCL Infosystems, says, "The consumption of electronics and electronic equipment is only poised to increase as consumers as well as enterprise infrastructures will consume more and more of technologically enhanced equipment and hence phase out the older ones. Therefore, it's necessary and critical an e-waste management process.' He adds, "Since it involves recycling and safe disposal of material that needs special processes, it is important that a set of guidelines be drafted. The waste management process should also provide for participation of all the stakeholders.' Adds KP Unnikrishnan, director (marketing, alliances and teleweb sales), Sun Microsystems India, "We are fully committed to maintaining our current target of having less than 5% of our products end up in a waste stream. Sun's global product returns programme recycles, reclaims and reuses components or entire systems. End-users can return their end-of-life equipment to Sun for recycling, reuse or proper disposal.' He adds, "Customers will be required to pay the freight to ship the products to Sun except where local legislation requires otherwise. Used computer equipment is then collected and sent to a third-party asset recovery vendor that recovers useful parts. These parts are then returned to Sun for remanufacture and reuse, often as field replacement units. Components and assemblies that have no commercial value as functioning systems are broken down for the recovery and recycling of metals and plastics.' WeP Peripherals Limited, a computer and Internet peripherals company, has formulated a green strategy to recycle IT hardware. It has entered into an agreement to give its waste to recyclers authorised by state pollution control boards. Apart from internal initiatives ensuring safe e-waste management practices, WeP launched Bangalore-wide citizens' programme in April last year. An awareness campaign was started targeting citizens, corporations and schools. Although the initiative started as a network of 10 centres located in prominent shopping areas in the city, there are now around 150 collection centres in schools, colleges, offices, apartments and commercial establishments in Bangalore. Also, the company has been exporting its printers to the European market since 2001 and has been in the forefront of conformance with RoHS (restrict the use of hazardous substances). RoHS is an environmental legislation adopted by the EU. But these are exceptions rather than the rule. Lakshmi Raghupathy, former director, ministry of environment and forests, says that an organised set up of recycling and waste disposal is still missing. "It's the vicious circle of recycling ineffectively that needs to be broken first of all,' she adds.