Abstract
The rapid expansion of digital technology has significantly impacted both human lives and the environment. According to the “2024 Digital Economy Report: Shaping an Environmentally Sustainable and Inclusive Digital Future” India’s global share in screens, computers, and small IT and telecommunication equipment (SCSIT) waste generation has doubled from 3.1% in 2010 to 6.4% in 2022. Further, the United Nations Trade and Development (UNCTAD) report says that India saw a 163% growth globally in generation of electronic waste from SCSIT. E-waste is hazardous in nature owing to involvement of toxic materials such as heavy metals and substances like lead and mercury and therefore needs proper disposal. The major problem in this backdrop is the vicious dependency of human lives on digital technology for a variety of services like e-commerce and e-banking. An insight into people’s attitude towards responsible disposal of e-waste and recycling has been done to check the efficacy of existing legal and policy framework for regulation of e-waste in India. The methodology adopted is empirical in nature wherein primary data has been collected from working professionals, students, and homemakers. The findings suggest that most of the population is dependent upon electronic items and most of the respondents own more than five electronic devices. The e-waste disposal, however, is not responsible in the sense that discarded devices are mostly kept in storage and very few sold them to recyclers or authorized e-waste collectors. Lack of awareness, knowledge, and resources are possible reasons behind the same. This situation demands an effective policy framework that not only defines responsibilities of the consumers for proper usage and disposal of electronic devices, but also equips the municipal corporations with funds and technology to manage e-waste and gives power to penalize illegal recycling and disposal.
Published Version
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