E-waste Management Guidelines – India

What is E-waste?

Electronic waste, or e-waste, is a term for electronic products that have become unwanted, non-working or obsolete, and have essentially reached the end of their useful life. Because technology advances at such a high rate, many electronic devices become “trash” after a few short years of use. In fact, whole categories of old electronic items contribute to e-waste such as VCRs being replaced by DVD players, and DVD players being replaced by blu-ray players. E-waste is created from anything electronic: computers, servers, telephones, TVs, monitors, cell phones, PDAs, VCRs, CD players, fax machines, printers, etc.

Introduction:

E-Waste (Management & Handling) Rules, 2011, were notified in the year 2011 and have come into force since 1st May, 2012. In order to ensure effective implementation of E-Waste Rules and to clearly delineate the role of producers in EPR, MoEF & CC, Government of India in supersession of E-Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2011, has notified the E-Waste (Management) Rules, 2016 vide G.S.R. 338(E) dated 23 March 2016 which came into effect from 01 October 2016. These rules are applicable to every producer, consumer or bulk consumer, collection centre, dismantler and recycler of e-waste involved in the manufacture, sale, purchase and processing of electrical and electronic equipment.

Benefit of recycling of E-waste:

• E-waste contains many valuable, recoverable materials such as aluminium, copper, gold, silver, plastics, and ferrous metals. In order to conserve natural resources and the energy needed to produce new electronic equipment from virgin resources, electronic equipment can be refurbished, reused, and recycled instead of being land filled.
• E-waste also contains toxic and hazardous materials including mercury, lead, cadmium, beryllium, chromium, and chemical flame retardants, which have the potential to leach into our soil and water.
• Protects your surroundings- Safe recycling of outdated electronics promotes sound management of toxic chemicals such as lead and mercury.
• Conserves natural resources- Recycling recovers valuable materials from old electronics that can be used to make new products. As a result, we save energy, reduce pollution, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and save resources by extracting fewer raw materials from the earth.
• Helps others -Donating your used electronics, benefits your community by passing on ready-to-use or refurbished equipment to those who need it.
• Saves landfill space -E-waste is a growing waste stream. By recycling these items, landfill space can be conserved.

How to solve the E-waste problem?

Solving the e-waste problem starts with education, and habit changes as a result of knowledge. Most people are trained to recycle a newspaper, bottles, and cans. Almost anything electronic in nature can be recycled properly with effort. It is important that any e-waste processor is fully certified in safe destruction and follow certified documented procedures to safely dispose of electronic waste. Ask questions before you recycle! Some unscrupulous recyclers ship e-waste overseas where it is disposed of improperly, posing a threat to the environment and its’ people.