Every year, an average of 2 million metric e-waste is produced in our country. But the neighboring countries of India, Pakistan, Srilanka have separate laws in e-waste management. The amount of e-waste in the country during 2011-12 fiscal was about 5.1 million metric tons. In the 2013-14 fiscal year, it increased by almost 11 million tons. Of these, only 51,500 tons of waste was made from mobile phones. Television and computer wastes produced 860000 and 34,400 tons respectively.
Meanwhile, due to the huge amount of unused electrical products in each ship imported for the ship breaking industry in Bangladesh, the maximum amount of waste generated from this is highest which is around 9 million metric tons. Apart from this, the amount of waste generated from various types of treatment and home appliances including CFL lamp, mercury lamp, and thermometer is 210336 metric tons.
If three million phones are imported annually, then it is assumed that the same number of phones is being wasted. And these wasted phones are a serious risk to the environment. This abandoned waste pollutes environment and also enters the body through food cycle. This waste is contained in various types of heavy metal such as lead, mercury, cadmium, chromium, arsenic. These are harmful for the body. In the developed countries, the mobile company is forced to buy the mobile again. The government will have to take initiative to introduce such system in Bangladesh. Then decrease the amount of e-waste.
There is no definitive dustbin for the e-waste disposal. As the Bangladesh Electric Merchandise Manufacturers' Association, the people of the country use electrical products worth 30 billion BDT (Bangladeshi Currency) each year. Currently there are 13 million mobile phone connections in the country. Every day these electronic components are being damaged and increasing the amount of e-waste. But there is no enterprise for waste management.