Poll Res. 34 (2) : 315-320 (2015) Copyright © EM International ISSN 0257–8050 E-WASTE GENERATION IN AN ACADEMIC CAMPUS: IIT KHARAGPUR AS A CASE STUDY SAMIR KUMAR JENA AND SUDHA GOEL Civil Engineering Department, IIT Kharagpur, Kharagpur 721 302 (Received 28 January, 2015; accepted 3 March, 2015) ABSTRACT Tremendous growth in the electronics and IT industries in India in the last 2 to 3 decades has led to e-waste becoming the fastest growing waste stream in the country. The objective of this study was to determine e-waste generation rates and disposal practices for three popular electronic products: computers, cell (mobile or tablet) phones and printers. An online primary survey was conducted in IIT Kharagpur in September-October 2013 and 202 responses were received from 100 undergraduate students, 75 faculty members and 27 post-graduate students and staff members. Overall e-waste generation rates in IIT Kharagpur were 0.18 units/capita-y for computers and 0.46 units/capita-y for mobile phones. Results further show that computers are being replaced within 4.8 to 6.5 years, while cell phones are replaced in 1.6 to 3 years. Only 78 respondents were printer owners and their cartridge disposal practices were evaluated in this survey. 55% of these respondents threw used cartridges into the dustbin, 22% stored their cartridges, 14% returned their cartridges to the producer, vendor or other business person, and 9% refilled their cartridges. Further, estimated e-waste generation rates for India were collected from the literature and were obtained from 2003 to 2012. The data were found to best-fit a linear equation which can then be used to predict future e-waste generation rates. KEY WORDS: obsolescence, personal computers, cell phones, printers, cartridges, E-waste INTRODUCTION Information technology (IT) and its allied sectors have seen tremendous growth in India over the last 20 years. Their contribution to the national GDP has grown from 1.2% in 1998 to 8% in 2012-2013 (DEITY, 2013). Production in electronics and IT industries increased at a rate of 22% in 2012-13 in contrast to the national GDP which grew by only 5% over the same period (World Bank, 2014). With an increase in production of electronic goods comes an increase in waste generation due to their obsolescence. The rapid growth of technology, up-gradation of technical innovations and a high rate of obsolescence in the electronics industry have led to one of the fastest growing waste streams in the world (Agnihotri, 2011). E-waste is the abbreviated form of electronic waste. Obsolete electrical and electronic items are referred to as e-waste. It includes all electrical and electronic items such as refrigerators, washing machines, computers and printers, televisions, mobiles, i-Pods, etc., many of which contain toxic materials. Like hazardous waste, the problem of e- waste has become an immediate as well as long- term concern as its unregulated accumulation and recycling can lead to major environmental problems endangering human health (Agnihotri, 2011). Obsolescence of e-wastes can be categorized as: • Natural obsolescence, or • Planned obsolescence Natural obsolescence is the process of obsolescence in which the electronic item is discarded at the end of its useful life. Natural obsolescence is generally adopted for the disposal of electronic items at the personal level. Planned obsolescence, on the other hand, is the process of obsolescence in which electronic items like computers, printers, etc. are discarded after a specific period of time, i.e., 2 to 5 years, which is predefined as its useful life period. In planned obsolescence, the electronic items are discarded after Corresponding author’s e-mail : sudhagoel@civil.iitkgp.ernet.in