E-Waste management in India

E-Waste management in India

Subject – Environment

Context – India is the third-largest producer of e-waste after China and the United States. More than 95% of this waste is handled by informal sector.

Concept –

• The International Telecommunication Union defines e-waste as all items of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) and its parts that have been discarded by its owner as waste without the intent of re-use.
• This waste is classified into six categories: Cooling and freezing equipment like refrigerators, freezer other equipment such as televisions, monitors, laptops, notebooks and tablets.
• It also comprises fluorescent lamps and other large and small equipment like washing machines, clothes dryers, dish-washing machines, vacuum cleaners and microwaves.
• The e-waste stream contains diverse materials — most prominently hazardous substances such as lead, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs), mercury, polybrominated biphenyl ethers (PBDEs), brominated flame retardants (BFRs), and valuable substances such as iron, steel, copper, aluminum and plastics.
• Decomposing e-waste is an expensive process and only a few developed countries can afford to do so.
• 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 be set-up in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.

E-Waste Management Rules, 2016

• 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 Organization (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.