India proposes radical changes to e-scrap management rules

By Paul Ploumis 03 Jul 2015 Last updated at 06:58:23 GMT

NEW DELHI (Scrap Monster): The Indian Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has proposed significant updates to the e-scrap handling and management rules. The Ministry proposes to implement extended producer responsibility (EPR) requirement on electronic scrap. Consequently, consumers may have to pay a refundable deposit on every purchase of new electronics item. Also, retailers will be obligated to take back end-of-life electronic items for proper recycling and disposal. The new rules are open for public comment until 10th August.

Under the proposed rule, the producer of electronic and electrical equipment shall be responsible for implementing EPR mechanism. The producers must implement a deposit refund system, whereby they are allowed to retain a portion of the sale price which shall be refundable to the consumer upon return of the end of life product.

The bill also proposes establishment of collection facilities in accordance with the guidelines prescribed by the Central Pollution Control Board. They must ensure that the collected e-waste is stored in a secure manner, not causing damage to the environment, until the time they are shipped to registered recycler or dismantler.

As per new guidelines, dealers are required to provide a box, bin or demarcated area for consumers to place their e-waste. They must ensure that the collected e-waste is safely transported back to the producer or to authorized collection facility.

However, various industry groups in the country have expressed disappointment over the proposed rules. According to estimates, almost 90% of the e-waste generated in the country is handled by informal sector. Hence the new rules are less likely to make much impact.