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e-Waste Notes for UPSC Exam

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Issue - New e-waste rules, 2016

• Recently, the Ministry of Environment and Forests have proposed the E-waste (Management
and Handling) Rules 2016 that will replace the earlier Rules of 2011

Main Features

• ApplicabilityEarlier it was applicable only to producers and consumers, dismantlers and

recyclers. Now extended toManufacturer, dealer, refurbishers and Producer Responsibility
Organisation (PRO).
o This will help in leakage of e-waste to informal sector
• Earlier only Electric and Electronic equipments were covered. Now even their components and
spare parts are also covered. Also Mercury containing lamps like CFLs also included.
• Extended Producers’ Responsibility (EPR):Extended producer responsibility(EPR) is a strategy
designed to promote the integration ofenvironmental costs associated with goods throughout
their life cycles into the market price of theproducts.
• Single EPR Authorization for Producers is now being made CPCB‘s responsibility to ensure pan
Indiaimplementation.
• Further, flexibility is given for ease of implementation of EPR provisions.
• Options like setting up of PRO,e-waste exchange, e-retailer, Deposit Refund Scheme are given to
Producers to ensure efficientchannelization of e-waste.
• Deposit Refund Scheme is an additional economic instrument introduced.
• Under E-waste exchange independent companies could offer services of sale and purchase of
end-of-lifeequipments.
• Collection is now exclusive responsibility of the Producer. There is no separate authorization
needed forthis as was required earlier.
• A target based approach has been mandated for collection. This is 30% of the quantity of
wastegenerated in first phase and will eventually move to 70% in 7 years.
• Bulk Consumer responsibility: They have to file annual returns. Health facilities have been
added to thedefinition.
• Participation of State government: Involvement of state government for effective implantation
of the rulesand simultaneously ensure welfare, safety and health of the workers involved in this
e-waste managementsector.
• Provision on Reduction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) during manufacturing stage has been
brought inline with existing EU regulations. A
• provision for withdrawal and recall of the products in case of non- compliance is added

Positives

• India produces around 8 lakh tones of e-waste annually while 151 registered recycling facilities
can handle only half of them.
• Presently, the e-waste management system suffers from proliferation of the informal sector.
They adopts a highly unscientific way of handling waste that is extremely hazardous to
environment and health. The new rules would help in putting a check on this.

Challenges
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• The success of bringing the consumer in the formal chain would depend on two things:Better
repurchase offer than the unorganized sector; Deposit Refund Scheme would help in this Easy
collection method
• Stress has been laid on simplification of procedures and flexibility on the part of the producers.
• Role of state government and other stakeholders is underscored that promises better
implementation
• The recycling capacity needs to increase. Presently it can handle only half of the waste
produced.
• Segregation of urban solid waste management has to improve where many e-waste get mixed.
• Habit of Indian households to cling on to defunct gadgets and not letting them go.

Way Ahead

• A great opportunity for India to deal with this growing menace which will assume great
proportions if not addressed now with full vigour.An awareness campaign would help in
implementation as well.

Background

• India is the fifth biggest producer of e-waste in the world, discarding 1.85 million tonnes (Mt) of
electronic and electrical equipment in 2014, a UN report has warned that the volume of global
e-waste is likely to rise by 21 per cent in next three years.
o Telecom equipment alone accounts for 12 per cent of the e-waste,
o almost 60 per cent was a mix of large and small equipment used in homes and
businesses, such as vacuum cleaners, toasters, electric shavers, video cameras,
washing machines, electric stoves, mobile phones, calculators, personal computers,
and lamps.
• The ‘Global E-Waste Monitor 2014’, compiled by U.N.’s think tank United Nations University
(UNU), said at 32 per cent, the U.S. and China produced the most e-waste overall in 2014.
• India is behind the U.S., China, Japan and Germany.
• Most e-waste in the world in 2014 was generated in Asia at 16 Mt or 3.7 kg per inhabitant.
The top three Asian nations with the highest e-waste generation in absolute quantities are
China (6.0 Mt), Japan (2.2 Mt) and India (1.7 Mt).

Reason behind rising e-waste

• With more than 100 crore mobile phones in circulation, nearly 25 per cent end up in e-waste
annually
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India as a dumping ground

• UNEP report says that exporting e-waste to Asia worked out 10 times cheaper than processing
it in within the developed countries
• While the European Union the U.S. and Japan are the primary origins of e-waste shipments,
China, India, Malaysia and Pakistan are the main destinations
• The waste is dumped in areas where local residents and workers disassemble the units and
collect whatever is of value... What is not reusable is simply dumped as waste, creating
immense problems and leading to what has been described as a ‘toxic time bomb’

Suggestion

• It is suggested that electronic waste collection targets are implemented in a phased manner
with lower and practically achievable target limits.
• Also, detailed implementation procedures for collection of electronic waste from the market
need to be followed