This week’s article titled, ‘E-Waste Management Approached in India’ by Pawan Kumar Chaurasia was short yet challenging to read. The content was fine, but the articles wasn’t written very well in terms of grammar.

The articles introduced a new type of waste to me: E-waste, which is basically what your i-phone 3 is right now. In broad terms, it’s any electric or electronic device that is discarded for no longer being useful, either due to being broken or out-dated. Not surprisingly, our E-waste contains a plethora of toxic materials including heavy metals. If these aren’t disposed of correctly the danger to human and environmental health is obvious.

India, as one of the fastest growing economies in the world, is also going through more and more E-Waste, as a larger portion of it’s population starts to earn more expendable income. Lots of that income goes to new electronics. And much like other kinds of waste, EW is being handled by predominantly poor, untrained waste-pickers desperate to make a living. The result is that they are exposed to cancer and neurological problem causing toxins.

The article also discusses the issue of illegal dumping, something wealthier nations are fond of doing in less developed, poorer countries with looser regulations. Basically, all our unwanted electronics get illegally sold for scrap to other nations, who in turn expose their citizens to some of the harshest chemicals in existence without bothering to equip them with appropriate safety gear.

At the moment, it appears that the best disposal solution for this kind of waste involves underground landfills. So, basically, we can only cover up the issue, rather then doing anything about it. Which I guess it the price you pay for making substances that can’t be “un-made”. For this reason the author has no solutions to propose. I’m glad that I read this article since it is another piece to the waste management puzzle.

-Ashley