Computers are not designed for recycling. It's not surprising, therefore, that in Europe and the us, a computer is thrown away every two years. And there are thousands of other electronic gadgets.

Mumbai: Maharashtra government would soon appoint flying squads to check the disposal of e-waste, which has hazardous impact on the city's environment.

An announcement in this regard was made by minister of state for environment, Sachin Ahir in the Legislative Council last week.

Manage your e-waste and we will pay you. With the country

To avoid being turned into a dumping ground for e-waste, the Nigerian government has decided to slap duties on old computers imported for spare parts. Much of the unwanted material is dumped. It is

It took a much-publicised Greenpeace agitation in 2005 two years to achieve its desired result - make Wipro Infotech come out with a range of eco-friendly desktops in June 2007. Unfortunately, it will need a more sustained movement to curb the growing electronic waste menace- which is bound to gain momentum following the 2% reduction in the mean central value-added tax rate on all IT products announced in the latest Union budget, as more people dump their old desktops for newer versions. "Sales of desktops are likely to go up 15-20% because of rising demand. Unless corrective measures are taken, the e-waste problem is going to become more serious,' Vinnie Mehta, executive director of the Manufacturers' Association for Information Technology (MAIT), said. "It's high time India had proper guidelines in place on disposal of ewaste,' Greenpeace toxics campaigner Ramapati Kumar said. Currently, many companies either dump their e-waste in the garbage bin or sell it to local scrap dealers. A large quantity of desktops sold in India use hazardous chemicals like polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and brominated flame retardants (BFRs), which makes it more necessary that these products are disposed safely.