Afsana Rezoana Sultana :
Present days are getting easier with the blessings of technology. Various electrical products have become an essential means of exchanging information and entertainment. The need for these products in our daily life is immense. We can’t stop using these even if we want to. People are using new electrical products to make food preparation, washing clothes, storing food, cleaning various items, exercising etc. very easy and fast. So it is understandable how the use of these electrical products is increasing with the rapid population growth.
When electrical products become unusable, we call them E-waste. Every household in our country generates some or the other e-waste. Old Television,, Radio, Rice Cooker, Mobile, Computer, Keyboard, Remote, CDs etc. are all included in E-waste. Have we ever wondered what we do with these wastes, where we dump them, or whether they have a detrimental effect on the environment? In most of the dustbins in the city old broken mobiles, keyboards, various types of wires, remotes, etc. are found lying. A study by the USDO found that 6 percent of the city’s population dumps E-waste in the city’s dustbin which is extremely harmful to the environment.
This is because this waste contains Lead, Mercury, Arsenic, Cadmium, Beryllium and many other harmful substances that are not present in household waste. So they do not rot or perish in any other way. According to the Environment and Social Development Organization, the country has generated 10.10 million tons of E-waste in the 2013-14 financial year and about 500 tons are made every day. So the amount is likely to increase further this year.
According to the Bangladesh Electrical Merchandise Manufacturers Association, about 320 million tons of electronic products are used in our country every year. Besides, about 50,000 computers are imported in the country every year. As a result, it is easy to estimate how much E-waste is generated from these millions of tons of products. Experts say it is not possible to get rid of its harmful effects without recycling E-waste.
Although electrical materials are reproduced and reused in developed countries, our country does not have any advanced system in this regard. People exposed to E-waste are more likely to have kidney disease, deafness, asthma, hypertension, nervous weakness, bone fractures. They are affected by various diseases including various brain diseases. E-waste also contaminates soil and water by mixing with soil and water.
Harmful substances mixing with soil enter the human body through green plants. This increases the chances of getting infected with various diseases including cancer. E-waste is scattered everywhere in our environment.
As a conscious citizen we should not throw them wherever we wish and must throw them in a certain place and make others aware of it. At the same time, we are hopeful that the government will formulate some strict rules and regulations to ensure proper reproduction and reuse of E-waste. In this case, technology advanced organizations can help the government in various ways. In a word, only the joint efforts of all can create an E-waste free environment.
(Afsana Rezoana Sultana writes from Patuakhali Science & Technology University)
