Due to rapid technology advancement and increasing obsolescence rate of the products, electrical and electronics equipments have been forming a significant portion of the waste stream. The burgeoning e-waste has very peculiar and complex characteristics and hence necessitates a sustainable solution for its handling and disposal. Battle for improving conspicuous inefficiencies in managing e-waste has been finally produced a fruitful result in the form of E-Waste Rules by Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF), GoI effective from 1st May 2012.

Electronic-waste (E-waste) is a critical issue India is facing today, with rapid technological advancement and growing obsolescence rate of electronics and electrical goods. The country is saddled with huge generation of this toxic waste, estimated to be more than 8 million tonnes.

Gurgaon, in last decade or so, has emerged as a major business center, being part of the National Capital Region. Many corporates, business houses, including BPOs, Banks, IT companies have their office in Gurgaon, which is now one of the India’s prime information technology and IT-enabled service hubs.

Hyderabad, November 24, 2011: Andhra Pradesh, one of the largest E-waste generating states in India, will need to come with definite plans and initiatives to manage effectively the huge amount of electronic waste in the state.

A study by Toxics Link titled "Toxics In That Glow: Mercury in Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs) in India" reveals the potential threat associated with these bulbs. The study, which analyzed twenty-two samples of CFLs of well-known brands sold in India for their mercury content, exposes somewhat disturbing trend in mercury dosing practice by the manufacturers.

Toxics Link in collaboration with Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (EMPA), State Secretariat for Economic Affairs SECO and Swiss Plastics Association is releasing an extensive study on plastic recycling across the city to measure one such widely used toxic chemical, brominated flame retardant (BFR) especially present in electronic products.

India has been one of the favorite dumping destinations for E-waste for over a decade now, fact which has been so widely reported in media. Recyclers in developed countries from the west, mainly Europe and US have found it very lucrative to pass the burden of handling this waste to countries like India and seriously impacting environment and human health.

New Delhi, June 29, 2011: Do Indian paint companies continue to produce and market their toxics leaded paints to the neighboring countries, even as they phase it out in India? Toxics Link-s latest report on lead in paints, titled "Double Standard - Investigating Lead Content In Leading Enamel Paint Brands In South Asia", that studied 27 paint samples of common major brands from Nepal, India and Bangladesh for their lead content shows exactly this:

There is potential threat from the carpet pads as these contain dangerous chemicals that can cause nervous system damage particularly in infants and toddlers.

In the first publicly available study by International PoPs Elimination Net work (IPEN) of its kind, a type of foam carpet pad commonly sold in the USA and other developed countries was demonstrated to contain levels of flame retardant chemicals that raise concerns about human health.

This is a welcome step. But Toxics Link, which has been campaigning for such a separate rule for several years, feel that the rules focus too much on helping "business" and less on tackling environmental impacts.