An analysis of the electronic
and electrical waste management in selected companies in Sri Lanka
Electronic and electrical waste
management has become a major problem in the world and a major threat to the
environment and has caused several health problems to the people. This research
analyzes the different types of e-waste in selected companies and the harmful effects
it causes. This study is done to reduce the pollution caused.
A significant literature review is
considered and evaluated from other research papers prepared by several other
researchers related to various independent factors such as environmental impacts,
health impacts, waste minimization, imports and exports and legal framework.
The population in this research is
the companies that provide supplementary activities and out of these a sample
of organizations are chosen randomly for the purpose of this study according to
the simple random sampling method. This research will provide the future
researchers an idea to implement e-waste management in the future.
Electronic and electrical waste
(E-waste) is very dangerous and also contains valuable materials in it. There
has been an increase in e-waste such as computers, laptops, mobile phones,
entertainment electronics and other electrical items in the recent years which
have led to many problems and has caused health problems. In 1994, it was
estimated that approximately 20 million PCs (about 7 million tons) became
outdated and this figure increased to 500 million PCs by the end of 2003
(Puckett and Smith, 2002 cited in Widmer et al, 2005). This is because the life
period of electronic products are very less due to rapid advancements in
technology. Manufacturing companies and hospitals need to continuously upgrade
their electrical equipments in order to be efficient.
E-waste can cause harm to humans
and the environment due to incorrect handling and treatment. E-waste management
is a complex study and most developing countries lack in e-waste management
systems due to limited infrastructure and technologies present in those
countries. Recycling the waste can
avoid environmental pollution and helps to recover valuable metals and other
reusable materials. E-waste represents one to three percent of global municipal
waste production of 1636 million ton per year (OECD, 2008 cited in
Mallawarachchi and Karunasena, 2012). Countries should try to minimize e-waste
by implementing efficient waste management systems as e-waste is becoming a
threat in many countries.
What are the issues arising from electronic and electrical
waste and how to minimize the issues?
Electronic and electrical waste can
cause many issues and problems. E-waste is a very complex study and it is very
difficult to understand. It can cause many environmental and health impacts.
When e-waste is dumped into the environment, it becomes degraded and the
harmful chemicals in it start to pollute the environment. These chemicals can
damage the soil and even affect the water if e-waste is dumped into rivers or
lakes. It can also affect the health of the humans. The chemicals that are
released from e-waste can cause several diseases to humans such as headaches,
heart and kidney problems, hair loss and many more.
The major problem is that most of
the people are unaware of the harmful effects that e-waste can cause. First of
all awareness should be created to the people about e-waste. Then an effective
e-waste management system should be implemented in Sri Lanka in order to reduce
it and reuse the valuable resources found in it. The companies can set certain
rules and regulations regarding e-waste to try to minimize it. However, it’s
very difficult to implement an e-waste management system in Sri Lanka as there
are not many facilities and due to several other challenges.
·
To find out the existing types of electronic and
electrical waste in selected companies
·
To find out the major issues arising from
electrical and electronic waste
·
To find out the relationship between waste
management strategies and health of the organizational employees
The findings of this report can
help the environmental authorities to understand how harmful e-waste can be and
will give them a clear understanding to start an e-waste management system in
Sri Lanka.
The findings of the report will help the new investors and
companies with high e-waste to realize the potential threats of e-waste. It
will help them to understand the importance of e-waste management system in
order to invest and implement it.
Findings of this report will help
the employees to understand the effects of e-waste and the safety precautions
they should follow in order to refrain from e-waste harmful effects that will
affect their health.
The findings of this report is very
important for the government as it can implement an effective e-waste
management system which will help them to set safety standards in order to
reduce many likely problems arising from waste.
The companies can also benefit from
this report. Most of the companies are the major reason for e-waste. This
report will help the companies to understand the problems caused by e-waste so
that next time they will try to avoid e-waste by recycling.
The society does not have much
knowledge about the harmful effects of e-waste. This report will provide the
society knowledge about e-waste and also will help the society to avoid
wastages. It will also help the society to stay away from e-waste.
·
The study will consider selected companies in
Sri Lanka that deals with high electrical appliances
·
This study will discuss the types of e-waste
·
The proposed study will analyze the harmful
effects of e-waste regarding health issues and pollution to the environment.
·
The study will also explain the ways to minimize
e-waste.
·
The sample will be limited to a number of
selected companies in Sri Lanka such as commercial banks, finance companies and
telecommunication companies
This chapter gives a clear view of
the literature that has been collected on Electronic and Electrical waste
management for selected companies through different research papers in order to
create a good understanding. Many researchers such as Widmer et al, (2005), Mallawarachchi and Karunasena (2012) and
Sthiannopkao and Wong (2012) found that e-waste is a very harmful type of waste
and many countries do not have efficient e-waste management systems.
Electronic and electrical
appliances have a short product life cycle. This is due to the fact that
technology is more advanced and these electronic products are upgraded with
different features. Consumers tend to be updated with new technology and they
buy new electronic products whereas the old one becomes a waste. The different
types of e-waste are nonfunctioning or outdated TVs, computers, printers,
photocopiers, cell phones, fax machines, home appliances, lighting equipment,
games and such, when no longer wanted, become e-waste (Sthiannopkao and Wong,
2012).
E-waste produces valuable
substances such as iron, steel, copper, aluminum, gold, silver, platinum and
plastics and it also produces hazardous substances such as lead, mercury,
cadmium and many other harmful chemicals that affects the environment (Wang et
al, 2011). Effective e-waste management systems can help to reuse the valuable
substances and get rid of the harmful ones. Implementing e-waste management
systems are not easy as countries and organizations face many challenges and
there are very less facilities in developing nations.
The following study will examine
the research that was carried out by several researchers on e-waste management
in selected companies. The analysis shows that several researchers were
frequently analyzing on environmental impacts, health impacts, waste
minimization, imports and exports and legal framework. The following hypotheses
produce an analysis on e-waste management.
E-waste has several harmful
substances that affect the environment in many ways. A discarded personal
computer with a CRT monitor typically weighs 25 kg and consists of metal
(43.7%), plastics (23.3%), electronic components (17.3%) and glass (15%)
(Berkhout and Hertin, 2004). These waste materials become very harmful when
exposed to the environment. E-waste contains more than 1000 different
substances, many of which are toxic, such as lead, mercury, arsenic, cadmium,
selenium, hexavalent chromium, and flame retardants that create harmful emissions to the environment when
burned (Widmer et al, 2005).
E-waste is a major contributor of
Carbon that is emitted into the environment annually (Bertram et al., 2002).
These substances cause air, water and land pollution. Air pollution is very
dangerous as it carries serious diseases with it than can affect humans when
they breathe. Water and Land pollution affects many animals and sea life
creatures. Land pollution causes soil contamination that affects plantations
which can enter food chains (Yang et al, 2008). This could be very harmful as
it can affect the human health. E-waste spreads into the air through dust and
affects humans through ingestion, inhalation and skin absorption (Mielke and
Reagan, 1998).
It could be concluded that e-waste
has many hazardous affects to the environment that leads to problems which also
affects the humans. Therefore, many researchers state that high attention
should be paid in order to manage e-waste (Khetriwal et al., 2006; Nnorom and
Osibanjo, 2007; Lee et al., 2007; Chancerel and Rotter, 2009).
Electronic and electrical waste in
countries can have a major impact on the health of the people. Nowadays most of
the people have a lot of electrical appliances at home which they do not use.
They have less knowledge about the harmful effect that these electrical waste
components can cause. Most of the computer monitors and cathode ray tubes
contain a highly toxic hazardous component that can damage central and
peripheral nervous systems, cardiovascular systems and kidneys and cadmium,
which causes cancers, kidney and bone diseases and neural damage (Ramachandra
and Varghese, 2004 cited in Mallawarachchi and Karunasena, 2012). This
statement proves that e-waste can cause major diseases to humans.
Harmful substances such as Lead and
Mercury which contains in mobile phones, TVs, LCD panels, electrical keyboards
and switches may even cause brain damage to the people (Sthiannopkao and Wong,
2012). It is also stated by Qiu et al. (2004) that high levels of e-waste can
cause high incidences of skin damage, headache, and gastro-intestinal disorders.
Some of the companies in Sri Lanka have a lot of e-waste which is a problem
because it will affect their employees’ health and as a result the company will
also be affected due to this.
According to a survey done in
India, only 16% of the respondents were highly aware of the problems caused by
e-waste and the rest 83% were only limitedly aware of the harmful effects of
e-waste (Dwivedy and Mittal, 2012). This is a major issue because the people
lack the knowledge to understand the serious health problems e-waste can cause
to them.
As discussed above, e-waste causes
many serious problems to the nature as well as humans. It is a growing trend in
the world and many people are unaware of the dangerous problems it causes.
Also, necessary steps should be taken in order to minimize this waste. Most of
the organizations have already come up with many ways to reduce e-waste. The 3R
system introduced by Japan which is Reduce, Reuse and Recycle approach has been
adopted by many organizations in order to minimize waste and improve product
designs (Sthiannopkao and Wong, 2012; Mallawarachchi
and Karunasena, 2012). Another initiative introduced by the United Nations was
the StEP system (Solving the E-waste Problem) to enhance and coordinate various
efforts around the world (UNEP, 2007). The Head of Lighting Manufacturing
agency said that “we use solid mercury for new CFL products without using
mercury vapor, reducing mercury released to environment.”
When minimizing waste, companies
face many challenges. These challenges include higher relevance of informal
sector, uncontrolled customer behavior and lesser facilities to recycle and
reuse (Mallawarachchi and Karunasena, 2012). Uncontrolled customer behavior
cannot be handled by the companies as they have to cater products according to
the customer needs and wants. Also, many developing countries like Sri Lanka
that does not have the required facilities to minimize waste.
Imports and exports play a major
role in e-waste management. Many developing countries tend to import a lot of
electrical items and most of the developed countries tend to export these
electrical appliances. Some developed countries dump their second-hand
electronic items in to developing nations. As stated by Wang et al (2011)
During the last decade, large amounts of e-waste have been rapidly piling up in
emerging economies both from growing domestic consumption as well as imports.
There are also products that have been brought in as private imports, and it is
thus difficult to identify which product was imported by whom (Wang et al,
2011).
Another major problem is that
business sectors are practicing illegal imports from developed countries where
it is expensive to recycle the discarded electronics (Dwivedy and Mittal,
2012). When practices like this occur it becomes difficult to manage the waste.
Imports and exports of e-waste are increasing steadily and there are no
specific guidelines, specifications or procedures to evaluate the quality of
electronic products in the existing e-waste management policy (Mallawarachchi
and Karunasena, 2012).
It is also stated by Mallawarachchi
and Karunasena (2012) “Sri Lanka is a tropical country electronic items become
e-waste at a high rate due to humidity, dust and temperature. Although imported
e-items are of high quality they cannot be durable if they are not
tropicalised,” shows importance of such.
The legal framework involves the
standards, rules and regulations that the organizations have to follow to
manage e-waste. Many studies found that organizations do not comply with laws
and regulations of electronic waste management and there are no internal rules
and regulations on electronic waste management that exist within these
organizations (Mallawarachchi and Karunasena, 2012).
Many organizations do not follow
the rules and regulations of e-waste management due to lack of knowledge about
the hazardous effects e-waste. According to Mallawarachchi and Karunasena (2012)
Though present electronic waste policy contains several provisions to ensure
effective legal enforcement and due compliance within country, findings depict
that organizations and people do not comply duly, mainly due to unawareness and
less compliance with laws and regulations and unawareness of such laws are
issues prevalent within existing legal framework of electronic waste
management.
H1
|
Ho1
– There is no relationship between environmental impacts and e-waste
management in selected companies in Sri Lanka
|
Ha1
– There is a relationship between environmental impacts and e-waste
management in selected companies in Sri Lanka
|
H2
|
Ho2
– There is no relationship between health impacts and e-waste management in
selected companies in Sri Lanka
|
Ha2
– There is a relationship between health impacts and e-waste management in
selected companies in Sri Lanka
|
H3
|
Ho3
– There is no relationship between waste minimization and e-waste management
in selected companies in Sri Lanka
|
Ha3
– There is a relationship between waste minimization and e-waste management
in selected companies in Sri Lanka
|
H4
|
Ho4
– There is no relationship between imports and exports and e-waste management
in selected companies in Sri Lanka
|
Ha4
– There is a relationship between imports and exports and e-waste management
in selected companies in Sri Lanka
|
H5
|
Ho5
– There is no relationship between legal framework and e-waste management in
selected companies in Sri Lanka
|
Ha5 – There is a relationship between
legal framework and e-waste management in selected companies in Sri Lanka
|
Source: Compiled by Author, 2013
|
|
The population in this research
will be the total number of commercial banks, registered finance companies and
telecommunication companies in Sri Lanka. There are many commercial banks,
finance and telecommunication companies operating in Sri Lanka.
The simple random sampling method
will be used as a method of sampling in this research. This method of sampling considers
every item in the population defined in the research has an equal chance of
being selected.
The sample size is chosen according
to the simple random sampling method. The total number of commercial banks,
finance companies and telecommunication companies in Sri Lanka will be chosen
as the population and the sampling size is chosen randomly.
The selected companies for this research are as follows:
·
Commercial Banks – 22
·
Financial Companies – 31
·
Telecommunication Companies – 8
The number of the population will
be calculated as per the weighted average method in order to gain the sample.
The total population is 61 and the sample chosen will be 30 for the
calculation.
The sample population is 30
companies and the amount will be divided using the weighted average method and
the calculation is done below:
Commercial Banks – 22/61*30 = 11
Financial Companies – 31/61*30 = 15
Telecommunication Companies –
8/61*30 = 4
Figure 2 – Population and Sample size Chart
|
|
This research is clearly focused on
electronic and electrical waste management in selected companies in Sri Lanka.
The explanation of the problem is the issues that have led the some of the
companies in Sri Lanka to create e-waste.
The research done is based on the
evidence of the previous literature review that have a relationship between
e-waste management and other independent variables for instance environmental
impacts, health impacts, waste minimization, imports and exports and legal
framework.
Currently there is an increase in
e-waste in most of the developing countries rather than the developed
countries. Sri Lanka is also facing the same situation with an increase in
e-waste in some of the selected companies. As there is an increase in e-waste
in Sri Lanka, some of the companies have planned to implement e-waste
management systems in order to reduce their waste. Most of the developed
countries have successfully implemented the e-waste management system which has
provided favorable results causing less pollution to the environment and
reduction in health issues.
Dalrymple, N.
Wright, R. Kellner, N. Bains, K. Geraghty, M. Goosey, L. Lightfoot, (2007), "An
integrated approach to electronic waste (WEEE) recycling", Circuit World,
Vol. 33 Iss: 2 pp. 52 – 58
Dwivedy
M. and Mittal R.K.(2012). An
investigation into e-waste flows in India. Mechanical Engineering Department,
BITS, Vidya Vihar, Pilani 333 031, Rajasthan, India. BITS Pilani Dubai, Dubai
International Academic City, P. O. Box No. 345055, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Georgina Davis,
Malcolm Wolski, (2009),"E-waste and the sustainable organisation: Griffith
University's approach to e-waste", International Journal of Sustainability
in Higher Education, Vol. 10 Iss: 1 pp. 21 – 32
Kahhat R.
(2008). Exploring e-waste management systems in the United States. Department of Civil and Environmental
Engineering, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA
Mallawarachchi
H. Karunasena G. (2012). Electronic and electrical waste management in Sri
Lanka: Suggestions for national policy enhancements. Department of Building
Economics, University of Moratuwa, Moratuwa, Sri Lanka
Martin Goosey.
(2004)."End-of-life electronics legislation - an industry
perspective", Circuit World, Vol. 30 Iss: 2 pp. 41 – 45
Nnorom I.and Osibanjo O. (2007). Overview
of electronic waste (e-waste) management practices and legislations, and their
poor applications in the developing countries. Department of Industrial Chemistry, Abia State University, Nigeria. Basel
Convention Regional Coordinating Center for Africa for Training &
Technology Transfer, Department of Chemistry, University of Ibadan, Nigeria.
Ongodo F. et al. (2010). How are WEEE doing? A
global review of the management of
electrical and electronic wastes. School of Civil Engineering and the
Environment, University of Southampton, Lanchester Building, University Rd.,
Highfield, Southampton, Hampshire SO17 1BJ, UK
Ramzy
K. and Eric W. (2012). Materials flow
analysis of e-waste: Domestic flows and exports of used computers from the
United States. Department of Engineering, Pontificia Universidad Católica del
Perú, Lima, Peru. Golisano Institute for Sustainability, Rochester Institute of
Technology, Rochester, NY, USA
Robinson B.
(2009). E-waste: An assessment of global production
and environmental impacts. Department of Soil and Physical Sciences, Lincoln
University, Lincoln 7647, Canterbury, New Zealand.
Sthiannopkao S.
Wong M. (2012). Handling e-waste in developed and developing countries: Initiatives,
practices, and consequences. Department of Environmental Engineering, College
of Engineering, Dong-A University, 37 Nakdong-Daero 550 beon-gil Saha-gu,
Busan, Republic of Korea. Croucher
Institute for Environmental Sciences, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong,
China
Wang
F. et al. (2011). The Best-of-2-Worlds philosophy:
Developing local dismantling and global infrastructure network for sustainable
e-waste treatment in emerging economies. United Nations University, Institute
for Sustainability and Peace, Hermann-Ehlers-Strasse 10, Bonn 53113, Germany
Widmer et al.
(2005). Global perspectives on e-waste. Technology and Society Lab, Empa, Swiss
Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research, Lerchenfeldstr. 5,
CH-9014 St. Gallen, Switzerland
