Union government tells state to earmark industrial space for recycling e-waste

Rapid technological innovations make many a gadget obsolete at a high rate. It has led to a growing mound of e-waste, with no specific infrastructure in place to dispose it scientifically. 

Though there is no clear enumeration of e-waste generation in the country, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), in 2010, projected that eight lakh tonnes of e-waste has been generated. Now, experts say, the number has shot up, while infrastructure is not yet in place to handle the mounting waste. The country has 178 dismantling/recycling units, with a capacity of 4,41,085.6 metric tonnes per annum. In Tamil Nadu, there are 14 units equipped to handle 52,427.0 metric tonnes per annum. 

“The interesting move is that the Centre has expanded the producers’ responsibility in handling e-waste disposal,” said Waste Policy Expert Dharmesh Shah.

“The notified E-Waste (Management) Rules in March 2016 has targeted big companies and ensured that there should be a setting up of producer responsibility organisations to facilitate collection and recycling of e-waste. It has assigned responsibility to bulk consumers of electronic products for safe disposal. The government has given them targets to take back e-waste from the consumers, which is different. These industries will also have to spend on the infrastructure. However, the concern of where the e-waste will eventually land up after being collected by these companies, remains,” he added. 

The Rules also stipulate the setting up of dismantling and recycling facilities based on Standard Operating Procedures, prescribed by the CPCB. State governments too have been entrusted the responsibility for earmarking industrial space for e-waste dismantling and recycling facilities and to undertake industrial skills development. The state will also have to establish measures for safety and health of workers engaged in these operations. This is a welcome move, said Dharmesh, conceding that recycling e-waste can be dangerous. 

“Currently, all the e-waste is handled by the informal sector. The dismantling of e-waste is not such a huge concern but the government should make it a point to include the informal sector, while developing the infrastructure. The value chain, with linkages between formal and informal sectors, to oversee the collection of e-waste from consumers to recycling facilities, should be ensured,” he said, adding the e-waste from Kerala too is handled by Tamil Nadu. 

Mathew Jose, who started Paperman to recycle paper and then e-waste, said that while creating infrastructure makes sense, the challenge will be to break into the informal sector. “Nearly, 90% of the e-waste is collected and transferred to the local kabadiwallah. In addition, the infrastructure should include collection points at the zonal/ward level, for the system to function smoothly. E-waste is currently ending up in our landfills, which are being burnt to reduce the size. By doing this, our air and water sources are polluted,” concluded the expert.