November 13, 2022, Sunday 

12 noon – 1 pm

• E waste is the end of life products generated by electronic and electrical equipments. E waste generation has increased even at the household level. Any electronic item, whether it is a toy or any other part which has got electrical and instrumentation items can be categorised as e-waste.
• The first e-waste management rules of India came into being in 2011. In 2016, the modified e-waste management rules came. E-waste Management Rules 2022 have recently been introduced on 2^nd November, which will be implemented from 1^st April 2023. 
• The new rules are very good and a welcome step. There have been lot of improvisations with much more detailing; the roles have been very clearly defined. The message is very clear that everyone, including citizens, has to be responsible. 
• All electrical and electronic equipment listed in Schedule 1 of the 2016 Rules including their components, consumable parts and spares have been covered in the new Rules. They are also applicable to solar photovoltaic modules and their panels, cells, etc. 
• These rules cover the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) framework under which every manufacturer, producer, refurbisher, recycler have to mandatorily register at a dedicated portal of CPCB. Without registration, they cannot conduct any business or deal with any unregistered manufacturer, producer, refurbisher. 
• Responsibilities have been defined for every manufacturer, producer, refurbishers, bulk consumers including institutions, hotels, hospitals and offices.
• Every manufacturer, producer, refurbisher may store e-waste for a maximum period of 180 days. They have to maintain record if they sell it to others.
• The new rules have provisions for environment compensation for violation of the Rules. The CPCB can issue guidelines under which compensation can be imposed. Rule 15A of the Environment (Protection) Act imposes penalty for contravention of the provisions of the Act and the rules.
• Under the new e waste rules, Producer Responsibility Organizations (PROs) are not required to be registered.
• Recycling targets have been defined. Now there are EPR based recycling targets instead of collection targets. 
• There is a central registry of CPCB, which is online which means that the system is moving towards more transparency.
• The ambit of e waste regulations has been increased. Seven categories have been covered, more than 200 products are covered under e waste regulations.
• Solar panels are a new feature in the new regulations.
• The end of life, however, is not defined. It has been left to the discretion of CPCB and the steering committee.
• Mechanism of recycling certificate issuance and trading has been introduced.
• There are items of economic value in e-waste; hence, products have a residual value. Checks and balances are required for how transactions can move the entire material chain. It gets linked to circularity principles because items of economic value get recirculated into the material flow chain and circularity is introduced into the system.

• The journey for e-waste rules began in 2008, when e-waste was introduced in hazardous waste management rules. Registration of recyclers got legal validity. In 2011-12, registration of recyclers and dismantlers started; from 3 in 2008, the number increased to 50-60 in 2011. The concept of EPR was introduced. In 2016, for the first time the targets were introduced and 25 items were brought under these rules. Then the collection targets came into being, which required the presence of collection infrastructure. These targets have to be met as a result of which certain amount of e waste generate has to be channelised into proper channel of dismantling and recycling. Concept of PRO came up which means the third party concept of orphaned products and historical products. Orphan products are those which nobody owns such as assembled products, unbranded products; they were recognized. The extent of the problem was not covered fully but the industry started growing as a result of which the number of recyclers also got increased as well as third party organization like PROs came into existence. This industry is now more than 10,000 crores. Still the problem remains where the collected items go and why the material balance is not being addressed at each level. The problem of informal sector still persists. 
• India still does not have major metal extractors. Out of  300-400 registered e waste recyclers only 26 have been given permission since 2014. Less than one percent of our estimated e-waste gets exported in a regulated manner under Basel Convention, which means that it is all going to the unauthorized sector. 
• E waste rules are applicable to every manufacturer, producer, consumer and bulk consumer, collection center, dealer, e-retailer, refurbisher, dismantlers and recycler.
• The e-waste rules are not applicable to lead acid batteries as covered under Battery (Management and handling) Rules 2001, micro enterprises as defined in Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Act 2006 and radioactive wastes are covered under provisions of Atomic Energy Act 1962 (33 of 1962).
• Under the EPR regime, the producer has to prepare the EPR plan for each item, where the producer gives their overall scheme to fulfil its EPR for achieving targets including the time frame. They need to outline their method of collection and channelisation of the end-of-life products to the authorised dismantlers/recyclers so that the material balance can be established and reporting can be tracked and monitored. The EPR Plan requires estimation of the quantity of e-waste generated from their end-of-life products including estimated budget for implementing EPR. Every producer has to apply for EPR authorisation from CPCB.
• In these new rules, consumer and bulk consumers have been made responsible. However, they are not required to maintain records and filing of returns. But, they are required to maintain inventory of items.
• Producers are also made responsible for creating awareness and registration on online portal has been made mandatory. The effort is more on transparency. 
• CPCB has been given a very crucial role in terms of maintaining registry of where the material is going and integrate all stakeholders with the centralized digital system. All the manufacturers, producers and refurbishers have to register. 
• Port and custom authority are also brought under the ambit of this as they are also considered an important exit and entry points for e-waste.
• The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has been given a role of channelization of orphan products in terms of their segregation and finding out registered recyclers.
• In 2023-24, the e-waste recycling target is 60% of the sales figures of the financial year 2022-23. A similar target is set for 2024-25. For 2028-29, the target is 80% of the sales figures of the financial year 2027-28. 
• From 60% to 80% is a tall target; how much we will be able to achieve is a big question mark because 80% of sales target is very difficult to achieve even in the best of the systems, which have been implementing EPR since more than 25 years. It will depend on the targets and how practical are those targets and what infrastructure we have for these treatment and disposal for recycling and do we still have the recycling happening throughout the country.
• Solar panels have been covered under these but the year for their channelisation, treatment and disposal has been put as 2034-2035, which means that this kinds of waste from solar panel is not of immediate concern and it will become a concern only after 2034-2035 when recycling and channelising will start happening for this type of waste. 
• Another feature of the new rules are e-waste recycling targets for products that have recently come up on the markets. For 2023-24, it is 15% of the sales figure of financial year 2021-22; for 2024-25, it is 20% of the sales figure of financial year 2022-23 and from 2025-26 onwards, it is 20% of the sales figure of the financial year two years back.
• We should collect e-waste, channelise the collected e-waste to the registered recyclers.
• Maintain records and file annual returns.
• Citizens should be made more responsible. Awareness has to be created as to how and where it can be disposed.
• SPCB should also conduct programs and workshops with RWAs to create awareness. There should be a collection center established in the RWA.
• These rules will definitely lead to a situation where things may start working in a manner to capture the quantum generated and how they are getting recaptured back to the system. Through the rules it has been ensured that the e-waste is going to only those authorised recyclers having all the minimum infrastructure.

• All the producers should have linkage to the authorised recyclers and there is a central portal. The intent is to not only make people accountable, but the intent is also to close the loop. 

• There is a debate coming up as to how the environment compensation is to be imposed. This area needs to be discussed.
• The new rules also talk about that the environment compensation recovered will be used for the development or funding its usage in processing plants. How these modalities will be improved has to be the next step.
• The definitions of orphaned products or discarded products or bulk generators need to be very clearly brought out.
• There has to be lot of training and capacity building of the people to identify.
• The e waste sector is a very organised sector through the unorganised or the informal sector. We don’t find e-waste thrown here and there, but we find plastic waste, municipal solid waste, here and there.
• Persons in the private sector like the producer, those responsible for selecting the particular agency like PRO or recycler also need to be thoroughly trained.
• The concept of end of the life and lifecycle of the product or circularity of the product is not considered by major producers while meeting the targets and that is one of the major reasons for the partial meeting of the regulations 2016.
• Very few recyclers have the capacity to extract precious metals.
• The new rules do not define how the common consumer can dispose of the e waste generated in their household. System of  collection of small e-waste should have been included by the government in the new rules. The government should have made a policy by giving responsibility to urban local body or producer or generator. There should have been a provision of collection center for consumers. However, it has to be kept in mind that such kind of interventions have to be financially supported.