Delhi, India: A California environmental group is teaming up with the Chintan Environmental Research and Action Group to document the impact of electronic waste on wastepickers in Delhi.

To help address the global problem of electronic waste (e-waste) – like discarded monitors, cell phones, PCs, circuits, and keyboards – a team from the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition (SVTC) has been visiting Delhi to meet with the wastepickers that Chintan works with. The two groups are hoping to build a case to put better regulations and processes in place to reduce the impact of e-waste on workers and the environment.

Currently, the majority of e-waste collected for recycling in the U.S. is shipped to countries such as China, India, South Korea, Nigeria, Malaysia, Mexico, Vietnam and Brazil. In 2006, California alone shipped an estimated 20 million pounds of e-waste to these countries, according to SVTC.

According to Chintan, men and women pick out, burn and smash with their bare hands the U.S. e-waste shipped to Delhi and Mumbai. This e-waste is often full of hazardous chemicals, including lead, mercury, and brominated flame retardants.

A team from SVTC will be in India until Sept. 12.

Chintan is a partner of The Advocacy Project, and Peace Fellows Paul Colombini and Mackenzie Berg volunteered with the group in Delhi this summer.