If we are to pan back to our country on the matter though, there seems to be no such sense of urgency. The environmentalists are concerned. Not enough people are wondering how their old electronic appliances are disposed of. Often it is a case of out of sight, out of mind. We couldn't care less. Both the old gadgets and appliances are either shunned to a storage room in the house or sold off to scrap dealers for a measly amount. Its fate after that has never quite been a concern for us Nepalis and the government too squarely falls in this category.Solid Waste Management Technical Support Center has no official system or budget that has yet been formed for e- waste management. The Solid Waste Management Act 2011, drafted by them does not even define e-waste. Ram Saran Maharjan of the center talks about the possibility of future plans but falls short of making any promises. Apparently, their only research on the matter is a thesis paper that was prepared by a Master's student four years ago. It's pretty obvious that e-waste management does not rank high on the list of the Solid Waste Management Technical Support Center's priorities yet.
And it is a shame. Virtually all electronics contain toxic materials that can be harmful to people and the planet. Some electronics, like smart phones and laptops, contain heavy metals like cadmium, beryllium, or arsenic, which have been shown to build up in our bodies and the environment. Similarly the wires and cables are often coated with PVC, which contains toxic additives too. The danger of improper e-waste disposal does not only affect humans but it hurts the planet and all those who inhabit it including animals, birds, and the aquamarine life. The chemical pollutants that are released into the atmosphere and underground water when e-waste is improperly disposed can even contaminate our vegetables and crops.
Besides the obvious health and environment hazards, by overlooking the importance of systematic e waste management, we are also spoiling the chance to create business opportunities. Umesh Tandukar, an engineer even calls it economic stupidity.
"We are throwing away an enormous amount of raw materials that are essentially re-useable. A large number of what is labeled as "e-waste" is actually not waste at all, but rather whole electronic equipment or parts that are readily marketable for reuse or can be recycled for materials recovery. Plus there are high amounts of precious metal in electronic appliances. For example, a mobile phone may contain more than 40 elements including base metals like copper and tin, even precious metals like silver, gold and palladium. These resources can be reclaimed at a profit and subsequently reused. Many countries including our neighbors, India and China jumped on the bandwagon a long time ago," explains Tandukar
Nepal has certainly not quite caught up on this idea yet. Elsewhere e-waste recycling and e-waste management is experiencing a huge boom with the increased popularity of devices such as smartphones, tablets, and laptops. Another factor behind the global e-waste market is the growing recognition of valuable substances, such as lead, copper and gold. In some appliances like a phone, these metals represent almost one fourth of its weight.
Then there is the good that can come of it. At the moment, e- Waste Management Nepal is the one and only project working in this field in our country. With the fund of five lakh rupees that was presented to them by the US Embassy, Laxman Khatiwada, founder of E- Waste Management Nepal began this innovative project with his friends. The recent Bachelor graduate shares that they have been going around collecting old laptops and computers to recycle them. "We have hired a trainer as well on a monthly salary basis and he teaches our trainees how to distinguish between the reusable and the non reusable parts of a computer in our e- waste lab. We then recycle the computers and send it to schools in villages so they can use it. At a time, when our city was overflowing with old and unused computers and the rural areas didn't have any this seemed like a worthwhile project," says Khatiwada.
According to him, this project would be of a larger scale if they had more skilled trainers at hand. Despite the fact that they would like to branch out and help recycle TVs and mobile phones as well, they don't have the skills or the budget to do so. Khatiwada insists this is where organizations like theirs could use the government's support. He believes watching scrap dealers taking away electrical appliances when they could be recycled for the people in need is tragic indeed.
We cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around us. Our actions eventually make a difference and while we do strive to make a positive impact, as far as the environment is concerned, its ripple effect has been appalling. This 5th June though, instead of lamenting the bad choices that have been made, we can try and get ahead of the curve. We could educate ourselves on an environment problem that is tipped off to be a full blown crisis, if not managed in the coming decades here in our country as well as the world. They are beeping and buzzing right around the corner.
priyankagurungg@gmail.com
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