E-waste expected to increase to 8,00,000 tonnes by 2012

During 2005, 1,46,800 tonnes of e-waste was generated in the country, which is expected to increase to 8,00,000 by 2012. A survey carried out by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) further states that the top ten cities generating e-waste are Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Kolkata Chennai, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Pune, Surat and Nagpur.

The Ministry of Environment and Forests has notified the Hazardous Wastes (Management, Handling and Trans-boundary Movement) Rules, 2008 for proper management and handling of hazardous wastes which include e-waste. Rules, All the units handling e-waste need to register with CPCB and the hazardous wastes generated shall be sent or sold to a registered or authorized recycler or re-processor or re-user as per the rule.

The Guidelines for Environmentally Sound Management of e-waste published by CPCB provide the approach and methodology for environmentally sound management of e-waste, which include details such as e-waste composition and recycle potential of items of economic value, identification of possible hazardous contents in e-waste, the recycle, re-use and recovery options, treatment and disposal options and the environmentally sound e-waste treatment technologies. The Guidelines emphasize the concept of Extended Producer Responsibility.

KP