CHALLENGE:
Electronic waste in developing countries is causing serious pollution and health issues to the
population of these countries; this is due to the problems they face in handling and dumping of ewaste. This problem is not just a headache for developing countries but for developed countries
as well who involve in substantial risk to labors and communities – who carry out the process of
recycling and disposing e- waste by exposing themselves to heavy metals and incinerator ashes
by the recycling processes and leaching of material.
Dave Krush, who is CEO of a disposing firm Cash for Laptops, regards the electronic waste as a
rapidly expanding concern, he says that technical solutions are available but the implementation
is barred by legal framework, logistics and collection system
EARTH CHARTER PRINCIPLE:
6. Prevent harm as the best method of environmental protection and, when knowledge is
limited, apply a precautionary approach.
a. Take action to avoid the possibility of serious or irreversible environmental harm even when scientific
knowledge is incomplete or inconclusive.
b. Place the burden of proof on those who argue that a proposed activity will not cause significant harm,
and make the responsible parties liable for environmental harm.
c. Ensure that decision making addresses the cumulative, long-term, indirect, long distance, and global
consequences of human activities.
d. Prevent pollution of any part of the environment and allow no build-up of radioactive, toxic, or other
hazardous substances.
e. Avoid military activities damaging to the environment.
TARGET GROUP:
Government, Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency and neighborhood area of Lyari,
children working in the e-waste industry. The landfills in Karachi receive waste from Karachi
and European countries and there is no proper system of managing this waste. The elements from
the e-waste are seeped into the river, polluting the Lyari River.
PROJECT PLAN:
We majorly will focus on voicing the concerns of neighborhood area and child labour affected
children and also find about the e-waste generation due to rising consumerism in Karachi.
I visited Naz Plaza(a consumer electronic market in metropolitan city Karachi), which is known
for importing dump electronic waste from developed countries and also importing new computer
articles, to find the answer to how they dispose electronic waste; we conducted a discussion with
a shop owner, who explained us how electronic becomes waste and how they get rid of it. The
Shop keeper told me that Monitors, System Units, and audio components have diverse value in
their lives. For example: Processors are most often old-fashioned (because of software up
gradations) because of which they are more likely to become e-waste, compared to monitors and
lCD/LEDs that usually replaced while working without repair attempts, this is subjected to the
wealth and appetite for technology of the rich and poor in our society. When asked how they
dispose both form of e-wastes, they stated that we sell obsolete e-waste to Kabar wala, or sell
them to vendors who deal in repairing and refurbishing, when asked if the article is absolutely
useless and has no intrinsic worth; the shop owner told us that they throw it away in trash cans. It
is to be noted that e-waste is not such a viable article that could be deposited anywhere one wants
to dispose. The issue with such careless disposal of e-waste that is non-biodegradable can cause
significant health scare for the local and national communities of the country.
These electronic devices are a combination of many mechanisms. If toxics are improperly
dispensed, it can negatively affect the human body, health and atmosphere. Major threats and
dangers occur because of mismanagement in the disposal and recycling processes. This can have
serious consequences for people who are living near by the places where e-waste is being burned
down or recycled. Grey coloured product’s wastes are deadlier than the brown and white
products of these electronic devices. Computers are surrounded with many lethal chemicals such
as mercury, lead, polyvinyl chloride, cadmium, phosphor compounds and beryllium.
PURPOSE:
To prevent the hazard of disposing of e-waste in Pakistan there should be certain target actions
that Pakistan should employ to avoid any mishap to its citizen, especially in Karachi.
MISSION:
To raise awareness about e-waste generation and management to the relevant authorities and
voicing out the concerns of the people living near the mismanaged landfill site of Lyari.
VISION:
Radical transformation in e-waste management system and ensuring healthy environment near
the landfill sites as well as saving the environmental degradation by decomposing the nonbiodegradable waste properly.
OBJECTIVES AND PLAN OF IMPLEMENTATION:
To raise awareness about the issue of e-waste management through social media(facebook,
twitter, and write in newspaper about this issue), organizing seminar to bring forward the right
picture and bring the issue into limelight of the media.
To ensure a safe and healthy living environment for people of lyari, living near landfill area of
lyari, this will require extensive research. Conducting focus groups, and interviews to document
their concerns.
Writing a policy paper to advocate the right of healthy environment being provided to people of
Lyari which will take into account Emerging Consumer Culture and E-waste Generation: its
implications for Karachi's solid waste management system.
It will take 6 months to complete this project, since half the research work is done at my end.