MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE
(SHRI ASHWINI KUMAR CHOUBEY)
(a) & (c) Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has notified the E-Waste (Management) Rules, 2016, for disposal of e-waste in an environmentally sound manner. The said rules inter-alia have the provisions of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR). As per the said rules, Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) is issuing EPR authorization (EPRA) to the producers of EEE along with e-waste collection targets on annual basis.
In the EPRA, the producers have been assigned annual collection target based on either generation or sale of EEE during earlier years. All the EPR Authorised Producers have EPR Plans where they have detailed their system of collection including details of collection points/centres, storage, transportation and environmentally sound dismantling and recycling of E-Waste either through authorised dismantlers/recyclers and their associates or through registered Producer Responsible Organisations (PROs) and their associates.
As per the Rules, the collection targets of Producer based on sales data has to be revised once Producer’s period of operation in the market reaches the average life of EEE. The target will be revised based on the prevalent collection target based on generation in that financial year after accounting for collections made in earlier years based on sales figure.As per the information provided by CPCB, a total no of 1766 Producers have been registered for EPR Authorization and also 57 Producers Responsibility Organizations (PROs) have obtained registration.
(b) There are 400 authorised dismantling/ recycling facilities/plants across the country for environmentally sound dismantling and recycling of E-Waste. Their cumulative annual processing capacity is 10,68,542.72 tonnes. In the state of Rajasthan there are 26 authorized dismantlers/recyclers having annual processing capacity of 90,769.00 tonnes. As per the annual reports received from the Rajasthan Pollution Control Board during Financial Year (FY) 2018-19 and FY 2019-20 the quantum of e-waste collected and processed in the state of Rajasthan is 4001.898 tonnes and 17028.188 tonnes respectively. For FY 2017-18 data from Rajasthan Board is not available. Recycling unit wise data is not availablewith CPCB. The quantum of E-Waste collected, dismantled, and recycled during last three years in the country including that of in Rajasthan is as follows:
Year Quantity of E-Waste Recycled through authorized dismantlers /recyclers in tonnes
2017-18 69,413.619
2018-19 1,64,663.000
2019-20 2,24,041.000
(d) Government master plan for management of e-waste is manifested through E-Waste (Management) Rules, 2016 and amendments there off. The said rules wasnotified in March 2016 and made effecting from 01.10.2016 and have the following specific objectives:
? Extended Responsibility to producers to manage a system of E-waste collection, storage, transportation and environmentally sound dismantling and recycling through EPR Authorization (EPRA).
? To promote and encourage establishment of an efficient e-waste collection mechanism
? To promote Environmentally Safe & Sound Recycling through authorized dismantlers and recyclers of e-waste
? To minimize illegal recycling / recovery operations
? Reduce Hazardous substances in Electrical and Electronic components
Under the EPR, the producers of Electrical and Electronic Equipment (EEE) listed in the Schedule-I of rules have been given responsibility of management of their products once they have attained end of life. After collection of targeted quantity of E-Waste Producers, have to get the e-waste dismantled and recycled in an environmentally sound manner.For implementation of E-Waste (Management) Rules, 2016 following specific efforts have been made:
i. Implementation Guidelines for E-Waste (Management) Rules, 2016 comprising of nine (9) specific guidelines have been prepared and uploaded on the web site of CPCB.
ii. 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 and submitted before Hon’ble NGT (PB).
iv. An Action Plan is in place for enforcement of the E-Waste (Management) Rules, 2016 in the country, and is being implemented through SPCBs/PCCs. The Action Plan has 11 action points for implementation of the said Rules. SPCBs/PCCs are regularly carrying out activities as per the action plan and upload their verification reports on the web portal developed for the purpose quarterly basis.
v. CPCB has issued show cause notices to 1001 Producers during FY 2020-21 for non-compliance (186 for not meeting collection target, 292 for non-functional collection centre and 523 for non-submission of annual report) under the e-waste rules. Also in the past EPRA of 10 EPRA producers was suspended due to non-functioning of its collection mechanism. The suspension was however revoked later based on corrective measures taken by the producers
vi. CPCB has issued direction under section 18(1)(b) of the Water Act 1974 and under the Air Act 1982 to UPPCB on 05-05-2020 for taking action against three dismantlers and recyclers for violation of e-waste rules and guidelines of CPCB. Accordingly, UPPCB ordered for closure of these units. As per the report of UPPCB, the three units are now complying.
(e) No study has been carried out to assess the health hazards caused by e-waste. However, the EEE after their useful life does not cause any harm to health and environment if it is stored safely in households/stores. If the E-waste is opened-up and unscientific methods are used for extraction of precious and semi-precious material from it, then it causes health risks and damage to environment.
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