Why should you care?

Bangladesh has grown by around 6 percent per annum over the past decade and is expected to continue to grow at a similar rate over the next ten years. The country's ready-made garments industry is responsible for much of this growth, but economic forecasters predict that rising incomes and improvements to infrastructure and regulation will gradually encourage a move towards higher value sectors such as electronics assembly. In fact, the country's ICT sector is due to receive a significant boost in investment with the recent announcement to build a high-tech business park in Gazipur, a joint venture by Bangladesh's Summit Group and India's Infinity Infosys Parks. 

But there is a flip side to this relentless technological progress. Rapid growth of the electronics industry and a high rate of obsolescence of the electronic products lead to the continuous generation of large quantities of e-waste. These waste products contain harmful chemicals like lead, cadmium, mercury, plastics, barium, beryllium, phosphorus and additives. In the absence of proper disposal or recycling facilities, these toxic materials create major health and environmental problems. A 2013 study conducted by the Blacksmith Institute and Green Cross International across more than 3,000 sites in over 49 countries identified the Agbobloshie e-waste dumping yard in Ghana's capital, Accra, as the place which poses the highest toxic threat to human life. Guiyu, in Guangdong Province, China, is widely reported to be the largest e-waste site in the world. A June 2009 study on Guiyu residents concluded that children living in this region have dangerously elevated blood lead levels (BLL) and that there is heavy metal contamination on surface water and sediments, which can cause kidney problems, brain and liver damage, weakened immune system and several neurological abnormalities.

In Dhaka, the informal sector controls the operations and processes of e-waste recycling. A survey was conducted and in-depth interviews around the city were taken aimed to understand and observe the key channel members of the unorganised trade and their current practices in places like Nimtoli, Dholaikhaal, Dholaipaar, Gulistan, Mirpur and Elephant Road. Large bulks of e-waste that are collected from households and offices are brought to these collection points by bhangariwalas (scrap collectors). Workers, including children, manually dismantle the electronic devices without any protective gear, using hazardous and unsafe methods of dismantling like open burning and acid treatment processes to recover metals. Components and parts, which cannot be processed further, are dumped in neighbourhoods or stored in electronic repair shops. 

A separate limited random survey was conducted this year on 200 Dhaka city inhabitants from higher and middle-income groups to understand the knowledge, awareness levels and practices of this segment of the population regarding e-waste and its impact on the environment. The study revealed that over 60 percent of the respondents were not aware of the term e-waste and the threats it poses. The results also showed that at least one electronic equipment was purchased by one of the members of the household within a timespan of every six to twelve months for at least one of these three reasons: technology available at an affordable price, product technical failure and keeping up with the latest trends. 

In terms of disposal, respondents disclosed that large non-working electronic products are either stored in their homes or sold to e-waste collectors. Smaller ones are primarily handed down to relatives or dumped in trash bins. When asked what are the factors they consider most strongly before disposing of an electronic product, about 80 percent of the respondents stated that it was convenience for disposal and best exchange offer. Consequently, after revealing a few facts about e-waste and its direct negative impact on our environment and health, over 65 percent of the respondents stated that they would take additional pains to safely dispose of the electronic waste regardless of the price they will get in exchange of the product. 

The laws in countries like Japan and South Korea use the principles of Polluter Pays Principle (PPP) and Extender Producer Responsibility (EPR), in some cases using fiscal space such as Advanced Recycling Fee (ARF), to establish a system of accountability among relevant stakeholders in the electronic goods industry. All parties - consumers, manufacturers, recyclers, local and federal government - have prescribed responsibilities to ensure the proper disposal and recycling of unusable electronic products. The key to making such a multi-stakeholder system work is to build awareness among all players. 

The Bangladesh government, through its Department of Environment, is currently working to establish a set of rules to address e-waste management in the country. This is an important first step in awareness building as it formalises a previously unorganised sector. India's Ministry of Communications and IT launched an Awareness Programme on Environmental Hazards of Electronic Waste under Digital India Initiative, which aims to use different mediums of communicaiton (workshops, seminars, print and digital media etc.) to create public awareness on the ill-effects associated with e-waste. Sri Lankan government's Central Environmental Authority (CEA) declared an awareness campaign titled National E-waste Management Week that kickstarted in 2014. The regulatory arm intends to collect huge quantities of waste electrical and electronic devices during the one-week campaign and concurrently build awareness.

The government plays a crucial role in implementing mass public education programmes. The government, NGOs and the private sector have formed interesting collaborations in both India and Sri Lanka to drive change and create awareness. Attero, India's largest e-waste management company, in partnership with IFC, a World Bank entity, has launched several e-waste awareness programmes and collection drives to keep electronic waste out of landfills and promote safe recycling. As a part of this initiative, Attero will be training the informal sector and will use the existing scrap pickers to collect e-waste from consumers. Since its inception in 2014, around 14 electronics companies in Sri Lanka, such as Singer, Mobitel and Hutch, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the government. 

The survey of Dhaka residents revealed that ordinary citizens, as consumers of electronic goods, are not adequately informed about the ill-effects of e-waste. Informal sectors workers, who regularly handle e-waste, are also ignorant of their own diminishing health from repeated exposure to hazardous substances. Without the pressure created by informed workers and conscientious consumers, and in the absence of government regulations, producers of electronic goods have little to no incentive to manage their products at its end of life. The situation in Bangladesh may not be as grim as that of China or Ghana, but working to build awareness among the different stakeholders is an effective step towards the safe management of an impending crisis.

The writers are Project Manager, EHS Business Solutions and Director (Governance and Environment), 5R Associates, respectively.