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E-WASTE MANAGEMENT

E-WASTE MANAGEMENT

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The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has released the draft notification for Electronic Waste Management for public feedback.

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India has a formal set of rules for electronic waste management, first announced these rules in 2016 and amended it in 2018. The latest rules are expected to come into effect by August 2022. Earlier, the Ministry had notified the Plastic Waste Management Amendment Rules, 2021. These rules prohibit specific single-use plastic items which have “low utility and high littering potential” by 2022.

What is the Draft Notification for Electronic Waste Management

• Electronic Goods Covered - A wide range of electronic goods, including laptops, landline and mobile phones, cameras, recorders, music systems, microwaves, refrigerators and medical equipment have been specified in the notification.
• E-Waste Collection Target - Consumer goods companies and makers of electronics goods have to ensure at least 60% of their electronic waste is collected and recycled by 2023 with targets to increase them to 70% and 80% in 2024 and 2025, respectively.
• EPR Certificates -  The rules bring into effect a system of trading in certificates, akin to carbon credits, that will allow companies to temporarily bridge shortfalls. The rules lay out a system of companies securing Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) certificates. These certificates certify the quantity of e-waste collected and recycled in a particular year by a company and an organisation may sell surplus quantities to another company to help it meet its obligations.
• Penalty - Companies that don’t meet their annual targets will have to pay a fine or an ‘environmental compensation’ but the draft doesn’t specify the quantum of these fines
• Responsibility of the State Governments -  The State governments have been entrusted with the responsibility of earmarking industrial space for e-waste dismantling and recycling facilities, undertaking industrial skill development and establishing measures for protecting the health and safety of workers engaged in the dismantling and recycling facilities for e-waste.

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 authorised 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.

Challenges Related to Management of E-Waste in India

• Less Involvement of People - A key factor in used electronic devices not being given for recycling was because consumers themselves did not do so. However, in recent years, countries around the world have been attempting to pass effective 'right to repair' laws.
• Involvement of Child Labor - In India, about 4.5 lakh child laborers in the age group of 10-14 are observed to be engaged in various E-waste activities and that too without adequate protection and safeguards in various yards and recycling workshops.
• E-waste Imports - Cross-border flow of waste equipment into India- 80% of E-waste in developed countries meant for recycling is sent to developing countries such as India, China, Ghana and Nigeria.
• Reluctance of Authorities’ involved - Lack of coordination between various authorities responsible for E-waste management and disposal including the non-involvement of municipalities.
• Security Implications - End of life computers often contain sensitive personal information and bank account details which, if not deleted leave opportunity for fraud.

There are various startups and companies in India that have now started to collect and recycle electronic waste. We need better implementation methodologies and inclusion policies that provide accommodation n and validation for the informal sector to step up and help us meet our recycling targets in an environmentally sound manner. Also, successfully raising collection rates required every actor to be involved, including consumers.