Context: Recently Environment Ministry has released Draft E-waste Management Rules, 2022, for public comments.
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.
Companies will have to register on an online portal and specify their annual production and e-waste collection targets.
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.
Implementing Authority:
The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) is the main organisation in charge of coordinating EPR certificate transactions and ensuring that enterprises are fulfilling their targets.
The overall execution of these laws will be overseen by a steering committee led by the Chairman of the CPCB.
Responsibility of the State Governments:
Establishing steps to protect the health and safety of workers working in e-waste dismantling and recycling facilities, and
Earmarking industrial space for e-waste dismantling and recycling facilities.
Concerns
The proposed market for e-waste recycling appears unrealistic.
First, large-scale recycling of e-waste is still in its infancy in India.
Most of the recycling of valuable material is carried out within the informal sector using inefficient and unsafe technologies.
Given this a target to recycle 60% of the e-waste generated in 2022-23 appears too optimistic
Second, if the regulatory targets were to create a vibrant market for recycling, silence of draft on regulating registered collectors, dismantlers, and producer responsibility organisations is an issue.
Implementation
Experience from European countries suggests that recycling targets would likely be much more difficult for the regulators to monitor and enforce compared to collection targets.
Deciding whether the recycling target applies to every component of an e-product or it applies to its aggregate weight is important because the technological complexity and cost could vary by component.
The Steering Committee which oversee the overall implementation, monitoring, and supervision of the regulations lacks representation from science/academia and civil society organizations.
The draft e-waste Rules propose a few positive changes in India’s fight against waste management, however, it require careful deliberation with all the relevant stakeholders before the Rules are finalized.
Q.1) Due to improper/indiscriminate disposal of old and used computers or their parts, which of the following are released into the environment as e-waste? (2013)
Beryllium
Cadmium
Chromium
Heptachlor
Mercury
Lead
Plutonium
Select the correct answer using the codes given below:
1, 3, 4, 6 and 7 only
1, 2, 3, 5 and 6 only
2, 4, 5 and 7 only
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7
Q.2) In India, ‘extended producer responsibility’ was introduced as an important feature in which of the following? (2019)
The Bio-medical Waste (management and handling) rules,1998
The Recycled Plastic (manufacturing and usage) rules, 1999
The e- Waste (Management and handling) rules, 2011
