Indian Government may ban e-waste imports from developed countries

Posted by jo on September 7, 2010

NEW DELHI: The government is considering banning the import of used computers and other electronic waste – coming primarily from developed nations such as US, Australia, Canada and parts of Europe – after several cases of e-waste smuggling came to light recently.

E-waste is being dumped in the country by developing nations using loopholes in domestic rules which allow NGOs and educational institutions to import such gadgets freely on the pretext of donations.
Conscious of the fact that huge shipments of e-waste generated in developing countries are finding convenient burial ground in India, the government had through a public notice on May 13, 2010 prohibited educational and other institutions from importing second hand computers, laptops and computer peripherals, including printers, plotters, scanners, monitors, keyboards and storage units. The step was short of a complete ban on such imports.
Disposal of e-waste often leads to emission of dangerous gases like in the process of recovery of copper from e-waste dioxins are released in the environment. Toxic cyanide is released in the process of extraction of yellow metal from electrical waste and computer components.