Dwivedy, M.,

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Estimation of future outflows of e-waste in India


As the world grows in population the need for natural resources does as well. With planet earth having over seven billion in habitants, space on earth for every individual begins to shrink, along with other areas that are necessary for life. The article by Dwivedy, M, Estimation of future outflows of e-waste in India, looks at current trends of electronic waste build up within the nation of India and predicts future projections through current evidence of how it will overall affect India as a country, through elements such as economy, environmental factors, and health hazards.

Outline

The introductory section begins with important points describing what e-waste is and the issue that surrounds it. Examining the fastest growing e-waste stream in Europe the WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronics Equipment) which disposed of 500 million computers in 2007, describes how the union is consistently growing and disposing of E-wastes heavy metals in much safer methods. The main argument focuses on e-waste being the biggest contributor to land fill heavy metals with 70% originating of electronics, the paper emphasizes how it is becoming more difficult to be rid of these new emerging electronics. India has PC ownership per capita between 1993 and 2000 of 604% while the worlds average is 181% during the same time, which was the deciding factor for examining India’s future projections. The last main point of the paper which leads into the methodology was how drastically much more India, China, and Philippines have been drastically affected by residential and imported e-waste.

Methodology

The methodology section strictly examined the mathematical aspect introducing key variables products the were prevalent in all three different countries. These variables were the average life span of products such as PC’s, TV’s, Refrigerator, Washing Machines, and Air conditioner. Dwivedy applies precise calculations to all three countries products in an Optimistic Scenario and Pessimistic Scenario that looks at if the electronics are either reused, stored, put in a landfill or recycled. The articles methodology of using two different scenarios is a major strength to the article, because it draws upon information from multiple sources that have different points of view about future projections, therefore by adding two different scenarios the article examines best case and worst case future predictions of India’s e-waste. A major weakness to this article is that it is older and therefore become less precise, although being past their predicted time of 2015, the article can now be examined through comparison perspective showing if the current trends have followed the Pessimistic or Optimistic Scenarios. This can then be used more precisely for future predictions.

Results and discussion

The following section of the article examines the main point discussed from the methodology showing E-waste per metric tone, for each item from 2007-2011. The largest results showed an average for total average of the scenarios combined with the products Desktop, Notebook, TV, Refrigerator and Washing machines all equalling a combined weight of 2.5 billion tonnes of electronic waste. The table showed a gradual increase of total obsolete items in every year showing that e-waste is continuously growing, overall creating a larger issue for not only India, but every country. The article found more alarming results of the numbers from the amount of e-waste being recycled which was put into a percentage. The amount recycled in the optimistic scenario (best case) shows the total amount being recycled over the 5-year span from 2007-2011 didn’t even increase 1%. The author points out near the end of the results section that the amount of global e-waste that is being produced and sent to countries such as India, China and the Philippines is increasing at a rate that the recycling plants and personnel are unable to keep up with.

Conclusion

In the final section of the article Dwivedy explains why he provided the information in the methods he did and why the information can be used positively within todays society if applied correctly to the current recycling establishments. The quote below shows how the article has another strength positively having an impact on the environment.

The WEEE generated in the coming years would be even greater in view of increasing penetration rate and the obsolescence rate of such appliances, added to the huge import of junk electronics from the developed nations. This growth has significant economic and social impact. The estimates predicted in this study can be used to develop the appropriate infrastructure for formal recovery and recycling of electronic waste thereby diverting them from landfills (pg. 490).

This article therefore demonstrates that e-waste is a growing problem and if correct changes are made towards those countries who deal with a large amount of global e-waste, serious economic, environmental and health conscious changes can be precisely and correctly made.

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