Due to rapid technology advancement and increasing obsolescence rate of the products, electrical and electronics equipments have been forming a significant portion of the waste stream. The burgeoning e-waste has very peculiar and complex characteristics and hence necessitates a sustainable solution for its handling and disposal. Battle for improving conspicuous inefficiencies in managing e-waste has been finally produced a fruitful result in the form of E-Waste Rules by Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF), GoI effective from 1st May 2012.

E-waste has become a serious threat to our environment as more and more gadgets are thrown out after usage into dustbins. This leads to toxic pollution, as electronics break down and release heavy metals, flame retardants, and other chemicals into soil and water.

New Delhi, June 24, 2012: Mohammed Wasim, 17, and his three friends were breaking some object inside a dimly lit house in northeast Delhi's Shastri Park area. A closer look revealed hat they were dismantling the motherboard of a computer.

The new e-waste rules notified by the government are an important step forward. However, loopholes which allow producers to evade their responsibility and the informal sector to evade environmental and health controls need to be addressed. It is also important to create mass awareness and make it easier for the consumer to dispose e-waste. Policy should encourage cooperation rather than competition between those responsible for disposing e-waste.

Panjim, June 18, 2012: It’s more than a month that the E-waste Management and Handling Rules, 2012 - notified by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests and the Central Pollution Control (CPCB), Govt of India, has come into force, but till date barely 1% of e-waste manufacturers and users have woken up to the reality of the new regulations.

New Delhi, June 18, 2012: Rules on electronic waste management were notified in May this year, but several electronics and electric equipment manufacturers in Delhi have not set up e-waste collection centres yet, say environmentalists.

New Delhi, June 18, 2012: It is now mandatory for consumers to hand over electronic waste to designated collectors for proper disposal while it is equally essential for producers, under the extended producer responsibility (EPR) to take back e-waste for recycling. The rule came into play on May 1 but Delhi, one of the biggest producers of e-waste in the country and the biggest recycling hub, is yet to put a collection mechanism in place.

Chennai, June 15, 2012: The next time you go to buy a laptop or a hard disk at one of those swanky showrooms, chances are that the salesperson would, besides telling you the features of the device, also give you detailed instructions on how to discard the equipment and the contact details of their collection centres. If she does not do so, you might have to ask for them, because according to the E-waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2011, the consumer must see to it that any device he buys is either picked up by the producer or sent to an authorised recycler for disposal.