From mobile phones to television sets to computers, recycling electronic waste is big business in India.

More than 500,000 tonnes of e-waste is generated in India each year while some developed countries also ship their waste there.

But most e-waste is improperly handled and is threatening the environment and public health.

In the absence of an effective method for the collection of e-waste and the management of its hazardous constituents, much of it ends up at scrap markets where it is recycled using high polluting technologies or in land fills resulting in high environmental risk and public health hazards.

On this edition of 101 East, we look at how Asia has become the world's toxic waste dump for electronic goods.

Joining us on the programme are Richard Gutierrez, the executive director of the NGO Ban Toxics, and Rachna Arora, an e-waste management expert.

This episode of 101 East aired from Thursday, September 9, 2010.