Saturday, May 19, 2007
TOPIC 9: e-waste recycling-indiahttp://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3307815.stmAlmost every year, thirty million computers are thrown into India or China for recycling. Now with the overloaded amount of waste, India has a concern. These equipment contain toxic materials like mercury, lead, flame retardants, and PVC-coated copper wire. These heavy metals and chemicals are actually disasters for the environment. Computer recycling involves the process of people stripping down the computers and extract parts to be sold in the high street. The rest are burned or dumped, which is both potentially highly hazardous to the enivronment. The process of extraction uses all kinds of chemicals which gets dumped into the soil or the groundwater, and the burning of PVC-coated copper wire releases dioxins, which is released into the environment. This job involves risks for the people who work for it. It can develop skin rashes as well as respiratory diseases.
To prevent anymore problems, computer companies have requested to take back their own computers for recycling through the right process. At the same time, manufacturers have eliminated the harmful substances inside the machines.
In conclusion, e-recycling in India have caused a great deal of problems for them. Not only the pay is low, but there is no level of safety when working for these. The recycling process also affects the environment, causing the people to develop illnesses.
