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India will be the World’s Biggest e-waste generator by 2020: Study

Author : NewsGram Desk

Computer equipment accounts for almost 70% of e-waste material followed by telecommunication equipment (12%), electrical equipment (8%) and medical equipment (7%). Household e-waste accounts for the remaining 4% found the study.

The majority of e-waste generated is managed by the unorganized sector and scrap dealers who just dismantle the product instead of recycling it. It was found that only 1.5% of the country's total e-waste gets recycled which causes a harm to natural resources.

E-waste landfill. Image source: Wikimedia commons

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According to the study, the main sources of electronic waste in India are the government and the public and private sectors, which account for almost 75% of the total waste generation. The contribution of individual households stands at 16%.

DS Rawat, secretary general of Assocham said "In India, about 4 lakh to 5 lakh child labourers in the age group of 10-15 years are engaged in various e-waste management activities in various yards and recycling workshops, but lack adequate protection and safeguards."

-by Vrushali Mahajan, an intern at NewsGram. Twitter: Vrushali Mahajan

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