E-waste is a term used to cover items of all types of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) and their parts that have been discarded as waste. E-waste includes items such as mobile phones, TV appliances, computers, laptops, tablets, home entertainment and stereo systems and white goods (fridges, washing machines, dryers, etc.).
The main feature of EEE is rapid obsolescence of models. New gadgets and new models appear almost daily, and users discard the older models as junk, even when they are in working condition. As a result, e-waste is globally one of the fastest growing waste streams.
E-waste contains many hazardous materials like lead, copper, zinc, and aluminium, flame- retardants, plastic casings, cables, etc. If e-waste is disposed in landfills, burned outdoors, or recycled in other inappropriate ways, the toxic substances can contaminate the air, water, and soil, affecting all living creatures.
India produced about 3.23 m tonnes of e-waste in 2019, making it the third largest producer of e-waste after the US and China. By 2050, India could be producing 160 tonnes of e-waste. In India, most e-waste ends up in the informal or the unorganized sector. In addition to local e-waste, there is also e-waste imported from the industrialized countries. In the lanes of Delhi and other towns, a large number of poor people, including women and small children, break open these gadgets to recover valuable parts and materials. With no protective equipment and poor working conditions, these workers are exposed to a cocktail of toxic chemicals and suffer physical injuries, chronic ailments like asthma, skin and eye diseases, and even life threatening diseases.
When e-waste is not handled properly or is burnt, the following deadly substances (capable of causing a wide range of health disorders and even death) are released: Arsenic, Barium, Beryllium, Brominated flame retardants, Cadmium, Chlorofluorocarbons, Chromium, Dioxins and furans, Lead, Mercury, Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and Selenium
Responding to the problem, the Indian Government introduced the E-Waste Management and Handling Rules in 2012. An important aspect of the Rules was the provision of Extended Producer Responsibility.
Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) has been defined as ‘a policy principle that extends the responsibilities of the manufacturer of the product to various parts of the product’s life cycle, and especially to the take-back, recovery and final disposal of the product.’
Under EPR, the producer’s responsibilities include:
• Liability for proven environmental damages caused by the product in question. The extent of the liability may embrace the whole life-cycle of the product.
• Financial Responsibility: The producer will cover all or part of the costs for the collection, recycling or final disposal of the products he is manufacturing.
• Informational Responsibility: The producer must supply information on the environmental properties of the products he is manufacturing.
The E-Waste Rules were replaced by new rules in 2023. These rules launched a new EPR regime for e-waste recycling. The salient features of new rules are:
• They are applicable to every manufacturer, producer, refurbisher, dismantler and recycler.
• All the manufacturers, producers, refurbishers, and recyclers are required to register on portal developed by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
• No entity shall carry out any business without registration and also not deal with any unregistered entity.
• Authorization has now been replaced by Registration through online portal and only a manufacturer, producer, refurbisher or recycler requires Registration.
• Schedule I has been expanded to include 106 items of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) under the EPR regime.
• Producers of notified EEE, have been given annual E-Waste Recycling targets based on the generation from the previously sold EEE or based on sales of EEE as the case may be. Target may be made stable for 2 years and starting from 60% for the year 2023-2024 and 2024-25; 70% for the year 2025-26 and 2026-27 and 80% for the year 2027-28 and 2028-29 and onwards.
• Management of solar PV modules /panels/ cells has been added.
• The quantity recycled will be computed on the basis of end products, so as to avoid any false claims.
• Provision for generation and transaction of EPR Certificate has been introduced.
• Provisions for environment compensation and verification & audit has been introduced.
• Provision for constitution of Steering Committee to oversee the overall implementation of these rules.
• Provision for reduction of hazardous substances in manufacturing of EEE has been provided. It mandates that every producer of EEE and their components shall ensure that their products do not contain lead, mercury and other hazardous substances beyond the maximum prescribed concentration.
• Provision for recognition and registration, skill development, monitoring and ensuring safety and health, of workers involved in dismantling and recycling of e-waste.
The Government further notified the E-Waste (Management) Second Amendment Rules in July 2023. These rules focus on refrigerants generated during the manufacture and end-of-life of refrigeration and air-conditioning equipment. The newly introduced provisions highlight the importance of adopting approved destruction technologies for managing refrigerants. CPCB will issue guidelines to oversee the proper implementation of these technologies. The Rules also provide for the generation of EPR certificates for multiple end products of recycling as per the CPCB guidelines.
