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.

The E-Waste (Management and Handling Rules) 2010, which became law last month, makes it mandatory for hardware manufacturers to facilitate e-waste collection. But with lax implementation, most manufacturers haven't bothered to take the necessary remedial steps.

New Delhi, June 10, 2012: Barely 4.5 per cent of India’s e-waste gets recycled due to absence of proper infrastructure, legislation and framework for disposing off electronic gadgets and products that have reached the dead-end, says a study.

New Delhi, June 01, 2012: The e-waste rules, which require manufacturers of electronic wares to introduce mechanisms for collecting and recycling their goods, came into force on May 1—a year after those were notified. The one-year gap was meant to give stakeholders, including manufacturers, collectors or dismantlers and recyclers, a chance to put their mechanisms of e-waste management in place. But their preparations are still incomplete, or as the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) puts it, the stakeholders are gearing up.

New Delhi, April 25 2012: According to the latest MoEF annual report, by the end of 2012, India would have generated a whopping eight lakh tonnes of e-waste; the dubious distinction has its serious side effects.

New Delhi, May 1, 2012: E-waste handling rules, which came into effect from Tuesday, will not make much difference at the ground-level, as there is no monitoring mechanism or guideline in place, says Toxics Link.