About 240 mn PCs can end up in landfill on MS move

About 240 mn PCs can end up in landfill on MS move

Subject :Environment

Section: Pollution

Context:

• Microsoft Corp’s plan to end support for Windows 10 operating system could result in about 240 million personal computers (PCs) being disposed, potentially adding to landfill waste.
• The electronic waste from the PCs could weigh about 480 million kg, equivalent to 3.2 lakh cars.

What is E-Waste?

• E-Waste is short for Electronic-Waste and the term is used to describe old, end-of-life or discarded electronic appliances. It includes their components, consumables, parts and spares.
• Laws to manage e-waste have been in place in India since 2011, mandating that only authorized dismantlers and recyclers collect e-waste.E-waste (Management) Rules, 2016 was enacted in 2017.
• India’s first e-waste clinic for segregating, processing and disposal of waste from household and commercial units has been set-up in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.
• Originally, the Basel Convention (1992) did not mention e-waste but later it addressed the issues of e-waste in 2006 (COP8).
  • The Nairobi Declaration was adopted at COP9 of the Basel Convention on the Control of the Trans-boundary Movement of Hazardous Waste. It aimed at creating innovative solutions for the environmentally sound management of electronic wastes.

What are the Provisions regarding E-waste in India?

• India has a formal set of rules for electronic waste management, first announced these rules in 2016 and amended it in 2018.
• The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change notified the E-Waste Management Rules, 2016 in supersession of the E-waste (Management & Handling) Rules, 2011.
• Over 21 products (Schedule-I) were included under the purview of the rule. It included Compact Fluorescent Lamp (CFL) and other mercury containing lamps, as well as other such equipment.
• For the first time, the rules brought the producers under Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), along with targets. Producers have been made responsible for the collection of E-waste and for its exchange.
• Various producers can have a separate Producer Responsibility Organisation (PRO) and ensure collection of E-waste, as well as its disposal in an environmentally sound manner.
• Deposit Refund Scheme has been introduced as an additional economic instrument wherein the producer charges an additional amount as a deposit at the time of sale of the electrical and electronic equipment and returns it to the consumer along with interest when the end-of-life electrical and electronic equipment is returned.
• The role of State Governments has been also introduced to ensure safety, health and skill development of the workers involved in dismantling and recycling operations.
• A provision of penalty for violation of rules has also been introduced.
• Urban Local Bodies (Municipal Committee/Council/Corporation) have been assigned the duty to collect and channelize the orphan products to authorized dismantlers or recyclers.
• Allocation of proper space to existing and upcoming industrial units for e-waste dismantling and recycling.