Sunday, April 10 2005 14:59 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Bangalore: Obsolete computers disposed of by hundreds of software firms in India's technology hub will be recycled as plastic and glass for industrial use by E-Parisara, an eco-friendly recycling unit on the outskirts of the city.

E-Parisara, said to be India's first scientific "e-waste" (electronic waste) recycling unit, will process obsolete computers and electronic gadgets discarded by software firms and bring most of it back into applications by industries.

The dump is located at Dobaspet, an industrial suburb, about 50 kms north of Bangalore.

"Most of the electronic goods will be recycled. Less than one per cent of it will be regarded as waste," E-Parisara founder P Parthasarathy said in Bangalore.

An alumnus of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Madras, he was a consultant with City Raya, a similar e-waste recycling unit in Singapore.

Parthasarathy says Bangalore has an accumulated electronic waste of over 6,000 tonnes.

A technology hub, the city is the hub to over 1,100 software units, employing over 2 lakh professionals. It is also home to India's aircraft and space industry, besides hundreds of electronic components and goods manufacturers.

"It is not just plastic from computers which is recycled. It contains many metals like nickel, silver, copper, gold and platinum among others," Parthasarathy, who runs a unit that exports gold plated cases for the watch industry, said.

The metals can be extracted from printed circuit boards, fax machines, printers and chips.

Parthasarthy says the E-Parisara unit is a commercial venture with sanction from authorities and has encouragement from the software industry.

"I am looking at profits from the first year," Parthasarathy, who has invested about Rs 80 lakhs in the unit, said. He has a small warehouse and plastic clearing unit at Peenya closer to the city.

India's pollution control boards have woken upto the adverse impact on environment due to e-waste and unscientific handling of the highly toxic products.

Domestic e-waste including computers, refrigerators, televisions and mobiles contain more than 1,000 different toxic materials.

Chemicals such as beryllium, found in computer motherboards, and cadmium in chip resistors and semiconductors are poisonous and can lead to cancer.

"Though there are several units that recycle electronic waste. E-Parisara does it scientifically and minimises the environmental impact," Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) member secretary B Ramaiah said.

Parthasarathy says India has an enviable record of recycling of around 60 per cent of general waste, compared to about 20 per cent in advanced nations like the United States and in Europe.

E-Parisara is located close to a 120-acre e-waste unit, the Hazardous Waste Management Project (HAWA), set up by Indo-German collaboration, Parthasarathy said.