Management of e-waste in the country

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE
RAJYA SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1011
TO BE ANSWERED ON 10.02.2022
Management of e-waste in the country
1011. SHRI VAIKO:
Will the Minister of ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE be pleased to state:

(a) the details of statutory regulations to manage e-waste in the country;

(b) whether any efforts have been made to segregate hazardous and toxic substancesfrom

the metallic wastes in the country;

(c) whether adequate measures have been taken for safe storage and pollution

controlfrom e-waste;

(d) whether it will not lead to adverse impact on health and environment in the absence

ofcompliance of regulations and strict monitoring of handling of hazardous and

toxicsubstances; and

(e) if so, mechanism put in place for strict monitoring and compliance of regulations

invarious parts of the country, the details thereof?

ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE

(SHRI ASHWINI KUMAR CHOUBEY)

(a)The management of e-waste is being carried out under the frame work of E-Waste

(Management) Rules, 2016 and amendments there off. The Rules, are effective from

01.10.2016. The rules provide for followings:

  1. Applicable to every manufacturer, producer, consumer, bulk consumer, collection

centres, dealers, e-retailer, refurbisher, dismantler and recycler involved in

manufacture, sale, transfer, purchase, collection, storage and processing of e-waste or

electrical and electronic equipment listed in Schedule I, including their components,

consumables, parts and spares which make the product operational.

  1. Under the EPR regime, producers have to obtain EPR Authorization from CPCB for

which they have to submit their sales data and EPR Plan to CPCB detailing their

strategy for collection of E-Waste, awareness plan, budget for implementing their

EPR and details of their dismantlers/recyclers.

iii. Notified EEE are twenty-one (21) and listed in Schedule – I of the above said Rules

under two categories namely ‘information technology and telecommunication

equipment’ and ‘consumer electrical and electronics equipment’.

  1. Under EPR regime producers of notified EEE, have been given annual E-Waste

collection targets based on the generation from the previously sold EEE or based on

sales of EEE as the case may be.

  1. Under the above said rules, import of EEE is allowed only to producers having

Extended Producer Responsibility authorisation(EPRA).

  1. Under the above said rules, operation without Extended Producer ResponsibilityAuthorisation by any producer, as defined in this rule, shall be considered as causing

damage to the environment.

vii. Under the above rules, recyclers, dismantlers, refurbishes of e-waste have to have

facilities for environmentally sound processing of the e-waste as the case may be and

have to obtain authorisation from the concerned SPCBs/PCCs.

viii. Under the above rules, limits have been given for hazardous substances in the

components of EEE being placed on the market

(b) Ministry has notified the Hazardous and Other Wastes (Management and

Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2016 as amended from time to time to ensure management

of hazardous and other wastes in an environmentally sound manner without causing adverse

effect on environment and human health. As per the rules, hazardous waste has been defined

as any waste which by reason of characteristics such as physical, chemical, biological,

reactive, toxic, flammable, explosive or corrosive, causes danger or is likely to cause danger

to health or environment, whether alone or in contact with other wastes or substances, and

shall include wastes as applicable in respect of Schedule I, Schedule II and Schedule III of

the rules. The said definition has been stipulated under Rule 3 (1) (17) of the HOWM Rules,

2016.Therefore, any metallic waste possessing characteristic defined for hazardous wastes

shall be managed under provisions of the said rules. Hazardous wastes are preferred to be

recycled/utilized as resource/energy recovery (including co-processing in cement)/ and

disposed through incineration or secured landfilling.

(c) As per the provisions of E-Waste (Management) Rules, 2016, guidelines have been

developed by Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) for safe storage of e-waste and all the

stakeholders have to store their e-waste as per the guidelines. As per the said rules, every

producer, collection centre, dealer, dismantler, recycler and refurbisher may store the e-waste

for a period not exceeding one hundred and eighty (180) days and shall maintain a record of

collection, sale, transfer and storage of wastes and make these records available for

inspection. The period of storage of one hundred and eighty (180) days may be extended by

the concerned SPCBs/PCCs up to three hundred and sixty-five (365) days in case the e-waste

needs to be specifically stored for research development of a process for its recycling or

reuse. The storage of end of life products has to be done in a manner which does not lead to

breakage of these products and safe to workers handling such products.

(d) The electronic and electrical equipment (EEE) after their useful life when they

become E-Waste, may not cause any harm to health and environment if it is stored safely.

However, if un-scientific and crude methods are used for processing for retrieval of useful

components or material or if the material is disposed in open, then it may cause health risks

and damage to environment.Non-compliance of the E-Waste (Management) Rules, 2016 and

HOWM Rules, 2016 may lead to adverse impact on environment and human health.

(e) Following Steps have been taken by the government for effective implementation of

the E-Waste (Management) Rules, 2016 and constant monitoring under the said rules:

  1. Implementation Guidelines for E-Waste (Management) Rules, 2016 comprising of

nine (9) specific guidelines have been prepared and uploaded on the web site of

Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

  1. Guidelines for Producer Responsibility Organizations (PRO) have been prepared

and uploaded on the web site of CPCB.

iii. The guidelines for environmental compensation charges (ECC) under e-waste

rules have been prepared in December, 2020.

  1. An Action Plan is in place for enforcement of the e-waste rules in the country, and

is being implemented through State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs)/ Pollution

Control Committees (PCCs). SPCBs/PCCs are submitting quarterly progress

report as envisaged in the Action Plan through a web portal developed for this

purpose.

  1. CPCB through SPCBs/PCCs has established a system of continuous verification of

the producer’s system of collection and verification of their compliance including

collection target. The SPCBs/PCCSs also has to continuously verify the

dismantlers and recyclers of e-waste. SPCBs/ PCCs are required to submit their

quarterly progress report trough a web portal in the system.

  1. There are 468 authorised Dismantlers/Recyclers in 22 States/UTs having

processing capacity of 13,85,932.22tonnes.

vii. Standard Operating Procedure (SoP) for grant of Extended Producer Responsibility

Authorisation (EPRA) under E-Waste (Management) Rules, 2016 has been

prepared for applicant where guidance has been provided for how to fill up

applications.

viii. Monitoring mechanisms for effective implementation of the e-waste Rules are

detailed below:

 Annual and Quarterly returns fromExtended Producer Responsibility(EPR)

authorized Producers.

 Annual Returns from PROs.

 Annual returns from authorized Manufacturers, Dismantlers, Recyclers,

Refurbishers, Bulk Consumers to concerned SPCBs/PCCs.

 Annual Report from SPCBs/PCCs to CPCB.

 Annual Review Report from CPCB to MoEF&CC.

 Random verifications of dismantler/ recyclers to ensure compliance of CPCB

guidelines.

 Random inspection of EPRA producers (Collection centres) to ensure

compliance of EPR conditions.