Although the system of collection seems sound, ewaste experts such as Ravi Aggarwal of Toxics Link say the guidelines are toothless in the absence of legislative backing. "They are just guidelines and don't not have any legal sanctity. No action has been suggested for failing to follow the guidelines."

The emphasis is on effective dismantling and recycling of electronic waste besides regulating the existing unhealthy dismantling of e-waste in cities like Delhi and Mumbai. "Cost effective and labour intensive activities, mostly carried out in the informal sector, need to be brought into the mainstream recycling activity the guidelines state.

,"With an installed base of 4.64 million desktops and 431 thousand notebooks and 89 thousand servers in 2004-05, India is a global hub for ewaste recycling. According to the estimates made by MAIT, the Indian PC industry is growing at a 25% compounded annual growth rate.

The e-waste inventory in India, based on this installed base and obsolescence rate for 2005, was estimated to be 146180.00 tonne. This is expected to exceed 8,00,000 tonnes by 2012. Sixty-five cities in India generate more than 60% of the total e-waste generated. Mumbai is the top generator of ewaste with Delhi second followed by Bangalore, Chennai and Kolkata. India also gets a huge quantity of e-waste from Europe and America.