5

A
REPORT ON
E-WASTE IN KOLKATA
CONDUCTED AT:
“IMRB INTERNATIONAL”
UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF:
Mr. Rajarshi Roy

SUBMITTED IN THE PARTIAL FULFILLMENT FOR THE

AWARD OF MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
(INDUSTRY INTEGRATED)
BY

JEET DAS

ENROLLMENT NO: EIILMU/09/S0068

BATCH:
TO: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS SCHOOL (KOLKATA)
EIILM UNIVERSITY, JORETHANG, SIKKIM

5
 BONAFIDE WORK

I hereby declare that the training project titled “ ” has

been submitted by me in the partial fulfillment of the requirement
for the award of the degree of Master of Business Administration
(Industry Integrated). This is a record of bonafide work done
under the supervision of Mr. Rudranarayan Kuri and this work
has not been submitted in any other University or Institute for any
other purpose.

7
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to “IMRB

INTERNATIONAL” for giving me the opportunity to work on
the project.

A large number of individuals have supported me in the creation

of this project and I am thankful to all of them for their help and
encouragement. It was really a learning experience for me
regarding markets and consumers.
I like to take opportunity in this connection to extend my warm
gratitude to my internal guide Mr. Rudranarayan Kuri and
external guide Mr. Rajarshi Roy who had rendered their
enormous help to undertake this project. I would also to like
thanks to all my faculty members and placement (IBS Kolkata) in
supporting me to complete this project.

9
 ABOUT IMRB

IMRB International (formerly known as 'Indian Market

Research Bureau' or 'IMRB') is a marketing research company in
South Asia. It was established in 1971. IMRB is a part of the
Kantar Group, the research & consulting division of WPP. It is
associated with a group of international market companies such
as the 'British Market Research Bureau (BMRB)' and 'Millward
Brown International'.
IMRB International operates through own offices, joint ventures
and associates in over 29 cities across 10 countries - Singapore,
Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, India, Pakistan, Dubai, Saudi
Arabia, Egypt and Iran. This network, along with fieldwork
associates in several other countries makes IMRB International
one of the premier sources for market research and consultancy

5
services for specific countries or on a multi-country basis
throughout South Asia, the Middle East and North Africa.
IMRB International's specialised areas are consumer markets,
industrial marketing, business to business marketing, social
marketing and rural marketing.
In India, IMRB International has five full service offices and
fifteen field offices. IMRB research supports 40 of the top 50
brands in the country.
IMRB International has eight specialist units:
• Probe Qualitative Research (PQR)
• Social and Rural Research Institute (SRI)
• Media & Panel Group
• CSMM : Partners in Managing Stakeholder Relationships
• BIRD : Research-based Consultancy for B2B and
Technology Markets
• eTechnology Group@IMRB
• IMRB MindTech Systems: Software development house
• Abacus Research: Data Processing House.

Sectors IMRB researches

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IMRB International has been the pioneer in conducting market
research exercises for several sectors. Today, there is hardly any
sector that IMRB International hasn't researched. From potato
wafers to PCs, cigarettes to cellular phones, alcohol to air
conditioners and bubble gums to building materials just name it
and we have researched it.
Agriculture and Agro-products
Alcohol
Automotive
Building and Construction
Consumer Durable
Distribution/Retail Trade
Household Care
IT/Internet
Industry and Business
Media and Entertainment
Social and Rural & Government
Tobacco
Engineering Sector
Education Sector
Processed Food
Sports Goods & Accessories
Health Care
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Finance/Banking/Insurance
Energy and Environment
Telecom
Processed Beverages
Cosmetics & Personal Care
Heavy Industries/Chemicals/Industrial/Minerals
Kids Products
Outwear/Clothing/Footwear/Accessories
Office Products & Services (non IT/non telecom)
Paper Products/Machinery
Services
Tourism, Travel & Leisure
Utilities/Infrastructure

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 IMRB International has been named ‘MR Agency of the Year’
by the Market Research Society of India (MRSI) for the third
time since the award was introduced in 2005.

A panel of senior marketing and research professionals short-

listed the 15 best case studies from the 80+ entries submitted
by researchers and marketing professionals. These were
showcased at the society’s annual two day conference held in
Mumbai in September, and IMRB bagged four of the five
awards given, in addition to the overall title.
The annual MRSI conference is a competitive showcase of
the best work carried out by research professionals and also
showcases the latest technological developments in the market
research industry. A panel of eminent senior marketing and
research professionals short listed the 15 best case studies from
the 80 odd entries submitted by researchers and marketing
professionals. These were showcased at the two day conference

7
held on September 25 – 26, at Hyatt Regency, Mumbai. IMRB
swept 4 of the five awards given and also won the MR Agency of
the Year.

5
 BRIEF DESCRIPTION -E-WASTE

Electronics industry is the world's largest and fastest growing

manufacturing industry. Rapid growth, combined with rapid
product obsolescence and discarded electronics is now the fastest
growing waste stream in the industrialized world. The growing
quantity of waste from electronic industry, known as e-waste is
beginning to reach disastrous proportions. Industrialized countries
all over the world are beginning to address e-waste as it is
inundating solid waste disposal facilities, which are inadequately
designed to handle such type of wastes. The project is
complementary to the on-going initiatives for management of e-
waste in India and the following are the key elements of the
project in this regard:
➢ Rationalisation of the inventorisation process
➢ Awareness on e-waste management among
stakeholders
➢ Analyse possible partnership models to promote
environmentally sound management (ESM) of e-waste

Electronic waste generators can be divided into two main

segments:
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  Households
Businesses
To calculate the quantity of waste, following formula can be
applied: -
Quantity of waste generated from Computers, Mobiles and
Televisions = Sales of these three products in last 10 years X
Obsolescence rate* of each category of product

* Obsolescence rate is the rate at which these products are

becoming non functional/obsolete. Therefore we need two inputs:
• Sales: FROM SECONDARY SOURCES (LIKE
ITOPS)
• Obsolescence or Replacement rate: FROM
STRUCTURED INTERVIEWS

Definition

"Electronic waste" may be defined as all secondary computers,

entertainment device electronics, mobile phones, and other items
such as television sets and refrigerators, whether sold, donated, or
5
discarded by their original owners. This definition includes used
electronics which are destined for reuse, resale, salvage,
recycling, or disposal. Others define the re-usables (working and
repairable electronics) and secondary scrap (copper, steel, plastic,
etc.) to be "commodities", and reserve the term "waste" for
residue or material which was represented as working or
repairable but which is dumped or disposed or discarded by the
buyer rather than recycled, including residue from reuse and
recycling operations. Because loads of surplus electronics are
frequently commingled (good, recyclable, and non-recyclable),
several public policy advocates apply the term "e-waste" broadly
to all surplus electronics. The United States Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) includes discarded CRT monitors in its
category of "hazardous household waste". But considers CRTs set
aside for testing to be commodities if they are not discarded,
speculatively accumulated, or left unprotected from weather and
other damage.
Debate continues over the distinction between "commodity" and
"waste" electronics definitions. Some exporters may deliberately
leave difficult-to-spot obsolete or non-working equipment mixed
in loads of working equipment (through ignorance, or to avoid
more costly treatment processes). Protectionists may broaden the

6
definition of "waste" electronics. The high value of the computer
recycling subset of electronic waste (working and reusable
laptops, computers, and components like RAM) can help pay the
cost of transportation for a large number of worthless
"commodities".

Problems

Rapid technology change, low initial cost, and planned

obsolescence have resulted in a fast-growing surplus of electronic
waste around the globe. Dave Kruch, CEO of Cash for Laptops,
regards electronic waste as a "rapidly expanding" issue. Technical
solutions are available, but in most cases a legal framework, a
collection system, logistics, and other services need to be
implemented before a technical solution can be applied. An
estimated 50 million tonnes of E-waste is produced each year.
The USA discards 30 million computers each year and 100
7
million phones are disposed of in Europe each year. The
Environmental Protection Agency estimates that only 15-20% of
e-waste is recycled, the rest of these electronics go directly into
landfills and incinerators.
In the United States, an estimated 70% of heavy metals in
landfills come from discarded electronics, while electronic waste
represents only 2% of America's trash in landfills. The
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) states that unwanted
electronics totaled 2 million tons in 2005, and 3 million tons in 2.
They also estimate that e-waste is growing at two to three times
the rate of any other waste source. Discarded electronics
represented 5 to 6 times as much weight as recycled electronics.
The Consumer Electronics Association says that U.S. households
spend an average of $1,400 annually on an average of 24
electronic items, leading to speculations of millions of tons of
valuable metals sitting in desk drawers. The U.S. National Safety
Council estimates that 75% of all personal computers ever sold
are now gathering dust as surplus electronics. While some
recycle, 7% of cellphone owners still throw away their old
cellphones.
Surplus electronics have extremely high cost differentials. A
single repairable laptop can be worth hundreds of dollars, while

6
an imploded cathode ray tube (CRT) is extremely difficult and
expensive to recycle. This has created a difficult free-market
economy. Large quantities of used electronics are typically sold
to countries with very high repair capability and high raw
material demand, which can result in high accumulations of
residue in poor areas without strong environmental laws. Trade in
electronic waste is controlled by the Basel Convention. The Basel
Convention Parties have considered the question of whether
exports of hazardous used electronic equipment for repair or
refurbishment are not considered as Basel Convention hazardous
wastes unless they are discarded. The burden of proof that the
items will be repaired and not discarded rest on the exporter, and
any ultimate disposal of non-working components is subject to
controls under that Convention. In the Guidance document
produced on that subject, that question was left up to the Parties.
Like virgin material mining and extraction, recycling of materials
from electronic scrap has raised concerns over toxicity and
carcinogenicity of some of its substances and processes. Toxic
substances in electronic waste may include lead, mercury, and
cadmium. Carcinogenic substances in electronic waste may
include polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Capacitors,
transformers, and wires insulated with or components coated with

7
polyvinyl chloride (PVC), manufactured before 1977, often
contain dangerous amounts of PCBs.
Up to 38 separate chemical elements are incorporated into
electronic waste items. Many of the plastics used in electronic
equipment contain flame retardants. These are generally halogens
added to the plastic resin, making the plastics difficult to recycle.
Due to the flame retardants being additives, they easily leach off
the material in hot weather, which is a problem because when
disposed of, electronic waste is generally left outside. The flame
retardants leach into the soil and recorded levels were 93 times.
Higher than soil with no contact with electronic waste. The
unsustainability of discarding electronics and computer
technology is another reason commending the need to recycle or
to reuse electronic waste.

8
 Methods of E-Waste Disposals Practiced Globally

Landfill and Incineration - According to the EPA, in 1997 more

than 3.2 million tons of e-waste ended up in U.S. landfills7. It is
thought that most households and small businesses, that disposes
rather than stores their obsolete electronic components, send their
material to landfills or incinerators rather than take them to
recyclers.
All waste landfills leak. Even the best state- of- the- art landfills
are not completely secure and a certain amount of chemical and
metal leaching is bound to occur. The situation is far worse for
the older or less stringently maintained dumpsites. When
disposed of in a landfill, e-waste becomes a conglomeration of
plastic and steel casings, circuit boards, glass tubes, wires,
resistors, capacitors, and other assorted parts and materials. About
70 per cent of heavy metals (including mercury and cadmium)
found in landfills come from electronic discards. These heavy
9
metals and other hazardous substances found in electronics can
contaminate groundwater. In 2001, CRTs were banned from
municipal landfills in California and Massachusetts because of
their recognized hazardous nature.
Municipal incinerators are some of the largest point sources for
dioxins in the U.S. and Canadian environments and of heavy
metal contamination of the atmosphere. Copper, common in e-
waste, is a catalyst for dioxin formation. This is of particular
concern as the incineration of brominated flame-retardants and
PVC leads to the generation of extremely toxic dioxins and furans
and copper makes their formation more likely. Some producers
send their e-waste to cement kilns for use as an alternative to fuel.
But cement kilns present much the same problems posed by
incinerators.

Re-use - Re-use constitutes direct second-hand use, or uses after

slight modifications are made to the original functioning
equipment. Re-use makes up a small percentage (about 3 per cent
in 1998) of the computers that have been discarded by their users.
These computers are later sold in very small numbers at some
recycling stores or are given to schools, or nonprofit
organizations. School districts that used to accept older computers

6
though now demand more recent generation computers for
training students.
Foreign markets, on the other hand, have such cheap labour
forces that they can buy working and non-working old computers,
repair them at very little cost, and resell them for a profit. While
there are no figures available, the amount of computers being
exported for reuse is increasingly significant. While extending the
usable life of a computer is a good thing, these older units
obviously have a limited life span and will end up as waste sooner
or later. Thus, these used computers will also end up as e-waste
on foreign shores, often in countries that are least able to deal
with them appropriately.

Domestic recycling - All of the current information regarding e-

waste recycling point out that most of the e-waste recycling
happen in developing countries. Recycling in these countries
results in toxic exposures to local workers and the open dumping
or burning of toxic residues and wastes in these recycling centres.
While the recycling of hazardous materials anywhere creates a
serious pollution challenge, it can be a disastrous one in an area
of the world where the knowledge of, and infrastructure to deal
with hazards and waste is almost non-existent. Large corporations
and manufacturers of new equipment tend to have a much higher
6
rate of electronic waste recycling than individuals and small
businesses because EPA regulations apply to much of this sector
(unlike households and small business who are basically exempt
from regulation). About 75 percent of end-of-life electronic
products received by electronics recyclers come from new
equipment managers and large-scale users (those with more than
500 employees).

Export to developing countries — According to ‘Exporting

Harm, The High-TechTrashing of Asia’, a report by The Basel
Action Network (BAN) and Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition
(SVTC), 50-80% of the US E-waste is exported to developing
countries under the guise of recycling. There are three primary
reasons why e-waste is increasingly flooding Asian countries:
• Cheaper labour costs
• Lax environmental and occupational regulations and not well
enforced

• It is legal in the U.S., despite international law to the contrary

(US not having ratified the Basel Convention on the Control of
Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their
Disposal), to allow export of hazardous E-wastes with no controls
whatsoever.
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Circuit board recycling - It is likely that the most
environmentally destructive recycling overall involves the
recovery of various components and materials found on electronic
circuit boards. Solder is also collected by slapping the boards on a
hard surface such as a rock and is later melted off and sold. While
sometimes fans are placed to blow the toxic lead-tin solder fumes
away, the exposure on a daily basis is likely to be harmful to the
labourers' health.

Acid stripping of chips - Much of the work to remove chips

from circuit boards is done for the ultimate purpose of removing
precious metals. According to BAN, a very primitive method like
acid bath is still being used for this.

Plastic chipping and melting - The plastic parts of e-waste, and

in particular the housings of computers, monitors, and plastic
keyboard parts, etc are all sent to recycling sites which process
plastics. The casings would lye and decay for while, and then
plastics would be chipped into small particles. The colour
pigments will then be extracted and a transparent plastic liquid
will emerge at the end of the process. Often children are
employed for this tedious job.

6
 E-waste Hotspot Globally

Electronic waste is often exported to developing countries.

Increased regulation of electronic waste and concern over the
environmental harm which can result from toxic electronic waste
has raised disposal costs. The regulation creates an economic
disincentive to remove residues prior to export. In extreme cases,
brokers and others calling themselves recyclers export unscreened
electronic waste to developing countries, avoiding the expense of
removing items like bad cathode ray tubes (the processing of
which is expensive and difficult).
Defenders of the trade in used electronics say that extraction of
metals from virgin mining has also been shifted to developing
countries. Hard-rock mining of copper, silver, gold and other
materials extracted from electronics is considered far more
environmentally damaging than the recycling of those materials.
They also state that repair and reuse of computers and televisions
has become a "lost art" in wealthier nations, and that refurbishing
has traditionally been a path to development. South Korea,
Taiwan, and southern China all excelled in finding "retained
8
value" in used goods, and in some cases have set up billion-dollar
industries in refurbishing used ink cartridges, single-use cameras,
and working CRTs. Refurbishing has traditionally been a threat to
established manufacturing, and simple protectionism explains
some criticism of the trade. Works like "The Waste Makers" by
Vance Packard explain some of the criticism of exports of
working product, for example the ban on import of tested
working Pentium 4 laptops to China, or the bans on export of
used surplus working electronics by Japan.
Opponents of surplus electronics exports argue that lower
environmental and labor standards, cheap labor, and the relatively
high value of recovered raw materials leads to a transfer of
pollution-generating activities, such as burning of copper wire. In
China, Malaysia, India, Kenya, and various African countries,
electronic waste is being sent to these countries for processing,
sometimes illegally. Many surplus laptops are routed to
developing nations as "dumping grounds for e-waste".[2] Because
the United States has not ratified the Basel Convention or its Ban
Amendment, and has no domestic laws forbidding the export of
toxic waste, the Basel Action Network estimates that about 80%
of the electronic waste directed to recycling in the U.S. does not
get recycled there at all, but is put on container ships and sent to

9
countries such as China. This figure is disputed as an
exaggeration by the EPA, the Institute for Scrap Recycling
Industries, and the World Reuse, Repair and Recycling
Association.
Guiyu in the Shantou region of China, Delhi and Bangalore in
India as well as the Agbogbloshie site near Accra, Ghana have
electronic waste processing areas. Uncontrolled burning,
disassembly, and disposal can cause a variety of environmental
problems such as groundwater contamination, atmospheric
pollution, or even water pollution either by immediate discharge
or due to surface runoff (especially near coastal areas), as well as
health problems including occupational safety and health effects
among those directly involved, due to the methods of processing
the waste. Thousands of men, women, and children are employed
in highly polluting, primitive recycling technologies, extracting
the metals, toners, and plastics from computers and other
electronic waste. Recent studies show that 7 out of 10 children in
this region have too much lead in their blood.
Proponents of the trade say growth of internet access is a stronger
correlation to trade than poverty. Haiti is poor and closer to the
port of New York than Southeast Asia, but far more electronic
waste is exported from New York to Asia than to Haiti.

10
Thousands of men, women, and children are employed in reuse,
refurbishing, repair, and remanufacturing, sustainable industries
in decline in developed countries. It is held that denying
developing nations access to used electronics denies them
affordable products and internet access.
Opponents of the trade argue that developing countries utilize
methods that are more harmful and more wasteful. An expedient
and prevalent method is simply to toss equipment onto an open
fire, in order to melt plastics and to burn away unvaluable metals.
This releases carcinogens and neurotoxins into the air,
contributing to an acrid, lingering smog. These noxious fumes
include dioxins and furans. Bonfire refuse can be disposed of
quickly into drainage ditches or waterways feeding the ocean or
local water supplies.
In June 2008, a container of electronic waste, destined from the
Port of Oakland in the U.S. to Sanshui District in mainland
China, was intercepted in Hong Kong by Greenpeace. Concerns
over exports of electronic waste were raised in press reports in
India, Ghana, Ivory Coast, and Nigeria.

11
 Kolkata- Emerging E-waste Hotspot

West Bengal has been one of India’s fastest growing states in last
decade, with a 5.2% growth in per capita net SDP. Over the three-
year period, it was also ranked as the fifth most attractive
destination for investments. The state had identified IT as a
priority focus sector to be developed into a growth engine. This
focus was reflected in the fact that West Bengal was among the
first states to articulate an IT policy, (formalised in 2000) which
was followed by a special incentive scheme for IT industry
introduced in 2001.
Though a late starter in the field of information technology, at the
moment, there are more than 250 IT companies which are
providing direct employment to over 50,000 professionals. These
companies registered an export earning of over Rs 3,500 crore in
the financial year.
West Bengal today is home to most leading names in the IT
sector, including TCS, Wipro, IBM, Cognizant, PWC, HCL,
Genpac, Skytech, Siemens, etc. The department of information
technology has been attracting high-end IT companies; KPOs and
BPOs to the state to generate more employment and increase
export revenues. The government is also trying to develop

12
satellite IT hubs in towns such as Siliguri, Durgapur, Kalyani,
Kharagpur and Haldia. While IT parks on Public Private
Partnership model have already been launched at Siliguri and
Durgapur, efforts are being made to develop an advanced IT park
near the IIT at Kharagpur. The vision is to rank among the top-3
IT States in India by 2010 and contribute 15-20 per cent of the
country’s total IT revenues. Its GDP in the service sector since
2001 has also grown at a blistering 25 percent. Banking and
insurance led that sector with 56 percent growth.
Kolkata, is the biggest and most important commercial point in
the eastern part of the country. The informal recycling business
has been going on this urban agglomerate for decades. Wastes
like plastic, metal, glass etc have traditionally been processed in
Kolkata and E-waste has joined this ‘elite’ group in recent times.
As it is an important port city, most of the international trade of
the eastern region of India also passes through Kolkata.

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5
 OBJECTIVE OF THE PROJECT

The main objective of this project is:

 To get the quantitative estimates of the waste arising from
electronic and electrical equipments.
To identify and document existing sources of e-waste
streams along the life cycle including product assembly, pre
and post usage, management and disposal and identify
improved practices based on the 3R principles.
 To generate awareness on e-waste management among
various stakeholders in the selected industry sector.

The main objective of this project is to get the quantitative

estimates of the waste arising from electronic and electrical
equipments. Scope of our study is limited to calculate the
quantity of waste generated from following three products only:
• Computers (Desktops & Laptops both)
• Printers
• Mobile handsets
• Televisions
• Refrigerators
• DVD/VCD Players

5
 TARGET RESPONDENTS

➢ To the establishment (private / govt.) who have disposed off

any computers or laptops & any computer peripherals
particularly in that establishment in last 2 years.
➢ To the establishment who have stored any desktop or laptop
in that establishment which are not in workable condition in
last 2 years.
➢ The employee strength of that establishment should be
minimum 10.

7
 SAMPLE SIZE

OWN CONTRIBUTION

5
 METHODOLOGY

➢ The study was based on face to face basis interview.

➢ There was no database. So we could go to any establishment.
➢ We had to talk with IT manager or administration or
commercial manager.

7
 Brief Description of Methodology

The study was carried out through various methods like review of
existing literature, structured and unstructured interviews,
exploratory surveys and photo documentation. Experiences from
earlier studies of IMRB were used to plan the study.
The research was carried out in phases-

1. Review of the existing literature.

2. Structured interviews with the industry (public and private) to

assess the amount of waste generated.

3. Interviews to find out methods of disposal, reasons for

replacement & durability of one computer & its peripherals.

7
4. Exploratory survey with various stakeholders to understand
their perspective regarding the issue.

5. Exploratory visits and unstructured interviews with the

informal recyclers.

6. Observation regarding the health and environmental impacts

7. Analysis of the information collected.

For the assessment of the amount of waste generated in Kolkata,

different categories of generators were contacted to find out about
their disposal rates and patterns. Mainly three categories were
identified for the study and data collection – a) organizations, b)
individuals, namely the students, servicemen, small business
holders and the academicians, and c) the recyclers and re-users.
Organizations were classified as manufacturing industries, service
organizations and the IT Sectors and the manufacturers. One to
one interaction was conducted in most of the cases and interviews
were based on general questions. From all the users, data on
computer and its peripheries disposal were taken. For each
individual group, the percentage of users who have knowledge
about the toxic contents of a typical desktop computer was also
5
investigated. The users were made aware of the present scenario
related to recycling etc. and their opinion was sought regarding
possible manner of disposal of computers. They were specifically
asked to mention whether the manufacturers, the users, the
government, the recyclers should shoulder the responsibility of
minimizing hazards related to e-waste.
Exploratory surveys and unstructured interviews were conducted
mainly to identify areas where e-waste is recycled. Informal
discussions were carried out and emerging trails were followed to
investigate the areas of such activities. The recycling areas/units
were surveyed to assess the conditions of recycling both from an
environmental as well as an occupational health perspective.

6
 LIMITATIONS

The concept of e-waste is still at a nascent stage in Kolkata and

India as well. Hence, the study has the following limitations-

1. There is a lack of accurate data pertaining to e-waste, thus the

assessment figures are approximate estimates based on limited
information. The assessment only took into account limited
equipments.
2. There is lack of awareness and absence of any policy in most
organisations regarding e-waste. Hence, many organisations had
no records and no response to questions regarding their end-of-
life disposal procedures.
3. E-waste recycling, lately, has received a lot of media attention
due to the hazardous nature of the activities. This has made the
people in the informal recycling sector very cautious, which made
it quite difficult to acquire detailed information about the areas of
e-waste recycling and the recycling processes.

6
4. In most places, we did not receive permission to take
photographs.

ANALYSIS OF THE
PROJECT

5
 QUERY ABOUT IT DISPOSALGUIDELINE

From the database we can see that the majority of the companies don’t
have any IT disposal guideline. Here we can see that only 5 companies
out of 20 companies have their IT disposal guideline. We also can see that
in the case of Government units they have their IT disposal guideline
fixed by the Government rules. But for other companies they decide about
the processes of IT disposal methods.
7
 TIME OF REPLACEMENT FOR DESKTOPS

The next question of the questionnaire was about the time for replacement
of desktops, we can see from the database that 42% companies have
disposed off their desktops after 5 years to 7 years after installation. And
other 58 % of the companies have disposed off their desktops after 3 to 5
years after installation. Later we have discussed about the causes of
replacement. But after that time duration the desktops become non
workable.
7
 TIME OF REPLACEMENT FOR LAPTOPS

Now my next analysis is about the time of replacement or laptops. We can

see from the database that the 30 companies 0ut of 50 companies have
disposed off their laptops after 3 to 5 years after installation and other 20
companies normally disposes off their laptops after 2 to 5 years of
installation. So, we can say that generally a laptop can work up to 5 years
after installation.
7
 REASONS FOR REPLACEMENT

The next question of the questionnaire was the reasons for replacement of
computers. From the database we can see that major cause of the
replacement was technical problem. From the chart we can see that 80%
people said that the major for replacement is technical problem. Another
70% people have said that the reason was obsolence of technology. Like
we can say now a days we normally use WINDOWS XP. So, the there is
7
no use for Windows 98 etc. But other 20% people have said that the
reason for replacement was to keep pace with latest trends.

MAIN REASON FOR REPLACEMENT

In the previous page we have analysed the various reasons for

replacement of computers. Now we are considering about the main
reason for replacement. From the database we can see that among 20
companies 15 companies have said that the main cause of replacement
was technical problems. And other 5 companies have said the main
reason for replacement was the obsolence of technology. So, we can
see the major factor of replacement was the technical problems.

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 TIME OF REPLACEMENT FOR INK JET PRINTERS

Now we are considering the printers. There are two types of printers
mainly used: a) Ink jet printers, b) laser printers. Now we are analyzing
the time for replacement of ink jet printers. From the database we can see
that among 20 companies 13 companies have said that they can use an ink
jet printers for 5 to 6 years after installation. Other 07 companies have
said that they can use it for 6 to 7 years after installation. So, we can see
that overall one ink jet printer can stay around 5 to 7 years after
installation.

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 TIME OF REPLACEMENT FOR LASER PRINTERS

Now we are analyzing the time of replacement of laser

printers. Among 20 companies 12 companies have said that the
replacement time is 7 to 8 years after installation. Other 08 companies
have said that the replacement time is 6 to 7years after installation.

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 CAUSES OF REPLACEMENT OF PRINTERS

We can see from the database that only 02 companies out of 20

companies have replaced their printers for toner problem & other 18
companies have replaced their printers for technical problems.

METHODS OF DISPOSAL OF IT PRODUCTS

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 We can see from the database that out of 20 companies 2
companies have taken buy back policy with their vendors, 12 companies
have taken decision that they will sell off their wastage products to local
dealers & other 6 companies will sell them to their employees at lower
price.

UNDERSTANDING ABOUT THE TERM E-WASTE

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 Now about the questions regarding awareness about impacts
of electronic waste, it has revealed that the most companies do not know
about the concept & also they are not concerned about it. Only 17%
companies have very good understanding about the problems of electronic
waste & the problems related to it. So I think it is a matter of concern for
the whole society.

EXPECTATIONS FROM THE RECYCLING COMPANIES

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 Here we are studying about what services do expected by
the companies from recycling companies. We can see from the database
that 85% companies are concerned about the monitory value from those
recycling companies. That is the main need of the companies.

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 FINDINGS

MAIN FINDINGS FROM THE PROJECT

For assessing waste generating from computers & peripherals I
have visited 19 private organizations & 1 government
organizations. From these users their patterns of disposals & rates
for number of PC s, laptops & printers were sought. Responses
from all companies were collected. This survey revealed that the
manufacturing units disposed off 100 computers & 36 printers in

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last 2 years. The study result shows that only 17 percent of the
people interviewed are acquainted with the term e- waste. While
83 % of people are ignorant of any toxic content in computers.
Among the choices that were given the majority preferred to go
for buy back / selling to second hand dealers plan. The second
choice was to give the obsolete computers to a collection centers
set up by authorized recyclers. It is to be noted that 83% of the
users expects returns in exchange money.
On the question if sharing responsibility of e- waste
management respondents put the responsibility with the
government.

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RECOMMENDATION

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 MAIN RECOMMENDATION TO THE PROJECT

The study result shows that only 17% percent of the people
interviewed are acquainted with the term e- waste. While 83% of
people are totally unaware about such things. All the persons
surveyed were made aware of the risk with the disposal of
electronic waste & the existence of recycling industry in Kolkata.
The study also indicated that most of the users wanted an e-waste
management system governed by a structured regulation. This
they felt, would also generate a scope for some business. The also
revealed that the consumers felt that the manufacturers should

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pay for the disposal procedures & the users must be made more
aware on the issues & the ill effects of e- waste. There should be
warning & instructions by the manufacturers on each of the
packages &also should clearly indicate the responsibilities of the
in the process of its disposal.

THANK YOU

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