February 2016 Woman At Work Digital

TRENDSETTERS
WW: Could you tell us what e-waste
means? And what items or products
qualify as e-waste?
DK: E-waste is a popular, informal
name for electronic products nearing
the end of their ‘useful life’. Though it
is often imagined as only old
computers and mobile phones, they are
only the ‘poster boys’ of e-waste. In
fact, things like broken or unused
electronic toothbrushes and razors,
battery operated toys, toasters,
washing machines, air conditioners,
TVs, microwaves, servers, UPS and all
kinds of things that work on electric
view to do my master thesis on the
topic, and ever since, it has also
become my profession. Of course, the
economics background still helps in
understanding the market dynamics of
e-waste, economic instruments for
improving e-waste management,
volatility in commodity prices and
more. What is interesting about the
e-waste as a topic is that it is so
interdisciplinary in nature.
WW: How does e-waste affect us?
DK: The electronic and electrical
equipments (EEE) are manufactured
environment. These toxic metals get
absorbed by the air or soil at the
treating site and enter our ecosystem
in an unstable and unhealthy way.
WW: Where does Sofies come into
the picture?
DK: Sofies is a boutique consultancy
working on a range of sustainability
topics including e-waste, alternative
fuels, cleaner production and
sustainable planning and
development. We are headquartered
in Geneva, with offices in France and
India. We work with international
power are e-waste.
WW: How did an economics
doctorate student enter this niche
field of e-waste management?
DK: Totally by co-incidence! I was
doing a Masters in International
Management, and wanted to do my
thesis related to sustainability. Just
then, there was an opportunity for an
internship on a Swiss funded project
supporting e-waste management in
several countries, including India. I
applied for the internship with the
with a complex mix of materials. Their
components contain precious metals
like gold, silver and copper, as well as
hazardous substances such as cadmium
and mercury. The problem arises due
to the inefficient recycling of the EEEs
to recover the precious metals. The
informal or local scrap recyclers use
basic processes such as open burning
of the equipment to recover targeted
metals like copper, aluminium, iron
and steel. This leaves hazardous
residues at the processing sites, causing
an explosion of pollutants in the
organisations, governments,
companies and foundations among
others in providing technical
expertise, doing training and capacity
building, technology transfer,
supporting innovation and process
improvements and more. In India,
we are very strong in the
e-wastesegment and sustainable
planning and development,
especially in the urban development
context.
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