Draft Notification Regarding e-Waste

In News

• Recently, a draft notification by the Environment Ministry has been notified regarding e-Waste.

Background

• India, which is unique among South Asian countries, in that it has a formal set of rules for electronic waste management.
• India first announced these rules in 2016 and amended it in 2018. 
• The latest rules, which have been put up for public feedback, are expected to come into effect by August.

Key Points

• Onus on companies and manufacturers: Consumer goods companies and makers of electronics goods have to ensure at least 60% of their electronic waste is collected and recycled by 2023.
  • There are targets to increase them to 70% and 80% in 2024 and 2025 respectively.
• Trade in certificates: The rules also bring into effect a system of trading in certificates, akin to carbon credits, that will allow companies to temporarily shore up shortfalls.
• Electronics included: 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.
• Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) certificates: Along with specifying targets, the rules also lay out a system of companies securing EPRs. 
  • 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. 
  • Difference from previous rules: The earlier rules stressed on collection targets. Now there is emphasis on the EPR, recycling and trading. 
  • This follows from the government’s objective to promote a circular economy.
• Online registration: Companies will have to register on an online portal and specify their annual production and e-waste collection targets. 
• Coordination and monitoring by: The chief entity that will coordinate the trade of EPR certificates and monitor if companies are meeting their targets is the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
• Implementation: A Steering Committee (SC) to be headed by the Chairman of the CPCB will oversee the overall implementation of these regulations. 
• Fines and punishments: 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. 
  • In fact, companies that fall short can meet a year’s target, even after three years. 
  • Those that meet their targets with a year’s delay will be refunded 85% of their fine, after two years, 60% and 30% after the second and third year respectively.
• Recycling Rate: In March 2020, the government said it more than doubled the electronic waste (e-waste) it recycled in 2018-19 over 2017-18. This translated to a 10% recycling rate in 2017-18 rising to a little over 20% in 2018-19.

What is Electronic-Waste (E-Waste )?

• About: 
  • Electronic-Waste is the term used to describe old, end-of-life or discarded electronic appliances. 
  • E-waste is categorised into 21 types under two broad categories: 
    • Information technology and communication equipment.
    • Consumer electrical and electronics. 
  • Electronic waste (E-waste) is the fastest-growing stream of waste 
• Major Causes:
  • The increase in production of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) has been attributed to industrialisation, urbanisation and higher levels of disposable income.
    •  It is increased due to higher and irresponsible consumption, shorter life spans of products and the mandatory obsolescence planned by the producers of EEE.
  • Root causes of India’s e-Waste problem– By 2021, the annual total volume is expected to surpass 52 MT, considering the fact that the number of devices connected to the internet is going to be between 25-50 billion by 2020. By 2050, the volume of e-waste in the worst-case scenario could top 120 MT annually.
    • In India, e-waste accounts for 4% of global e-waste and 2.5% of global GDP (2014 figures) – so it has a higher share of e-waste than its share of gross domestic product (GDP).
    • The hard-to-recover substances from e-waste like mercury, arsenic make their home in landfills and keep leaching into groundwater.
    • Incineration is one of the most practised methods of recycling leading to high carbon emissions and poisoning of air with toxic gases.
    • The poor implementation of Extended Producer Responsibility as mandated under e-Waste Management Rules, 2016 is another challenge.
    • The export of e-waste from developed countries is another growing problem despite regulations under the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal.

Impacts and Concerns

• Environmental:
  • Some major effects of e-waste on the environment include groundwater pollution, acidification of soil and contamination of groundwater, and air pollution due to the burning of plastic and other remnants. 
• Health:
  • Some of the major health effects include serious illnesses such as lung cancer, respiratory problems, bronchitis, brain damages, etc, due to inhalation of toxic fumes, exposure to heavy metals and alike.
• Recycling potential:
  • The recycling potential of our country is poor. 
  • More than 90 per cent of our E-waste is handled by the informal sector/unorganised sector that uses non-scientific and dangerous methods to extract the resource from E-waste.

Issues 

• Wrong data: The e-waste produced in India as per the data provided by the government is lower than estimates by international agencies. There is a need to have correct data so that work can be taken up accordingly and the Government can provide dedicated impetus to the same. 

• High rank on e-waste production: According to the Global E-Waste Monitor 2017, India generates about 2 million tonnes (MT) of e-waste annually and ranks fifth among e-waste producing countries, after the U.S., China, Japan and Germany.
• Informal and hazardous circumstances: Most of India’s e-waste is recycled by the informal sector and under hazardous conditions and a thrust of the e-waste rules is to have more of this waste be handled by the formal sector.

Steps taken by Governments

• Law on e-waste management 2011:
  • The government passed the first law on e-waste management in 2011, based on Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR).
    • It put the onus on the producer for the management of the final stages of the life of its product by creating certain norms in tandem with state pollution control boards. 
• E-waste (Management) Rules, 2016:
  • E-waste (Management) Rules, 2016 had strengthened the existing rules. 
  • The rule extended its purview to components or consumables or parts or spares of Electrical and Electronic Equipment (EEE), along with their products
  • Some of the salient features of the rules include e-waste classification, extended producer responsibility (EPR), collection targets (EPR) and restrictions on import of e-waste containing hazardous materials.
• E-waste Awareness programme:
  • The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, MeitY, has initiated an E-waste Awareness programme under Digital India initiatives, along with industry associations in 2015.
  • It aims to create awareness among the public about the hazards of e-waste recycling by the unorganised sector and to educate them about alternate methods of disposing of their e-waste.
• Development of affordable technologies: 
  • The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has developed affordable technologies to recycle valuable materials and plastics in an environmentally sound manner, including two exclusive PCB recycling technologie.

Way Ahead

• We need better implementation methodologies and inclusion policies that provide accommodation and validation for the informal sector to step up and help us meet our recycling targets in an environmentally sound manner.
• Streamlining the informal sector will ensure better management practices for handling e-waste and it will also aid in environmental protection, improve the health and working conditions of labourers and provide better work opportunities to over a million people. 
• To capture the global value of materials in e-waste and create global circular value chains, use new technology to create service business models, better product tracking and manufacturer or retailer take-back programmes.

Source: TH