Electronic Waste – Regulations

Dear Readers,

In the previous notes we discussed about the proliferation of electronic goods and the impact that they are making not only on the people but also on the environment.

What is the global community doing about this? Are we looking at any solutions to tackle this problem?

European Union has taken a lead in the formulation and strict monitoring of regulations concerning electronics. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of the US has also come up with certain regulations and guidelines. These regulations are being widely adopted as the model in other regions too. The important ones concerning electronics are:

1. Energy Using Product (EuP) concerning design of energy optimized products at every stage of development.
2. Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (WEEE), assigning responsibility for collection, recovery and recycling of equipment
3. Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS), setting regulations for limiting the usage of toxic substances, mainly in the materials (or devices), manufacturing and packaging and distribution phases.
4. Registration, Evaluation and Authorization of Chemicals (REACH), mandating the registration of over 30000 substances, importers of dangerous substances, phasing out toxics etc
5. Energy Star (launched by EPA) provides well recognized benchmark for energy efficiency.

Various countries that are signatories to the Kyoto Protocol and concerned about environmental impact, have their own variants too, apart from using the above regulations as their primary models. Strictly implementing them is not without challenges. Higher costs (investments, operations, alternate materials), technical issues involved in design and manufacturing, unknown quality and reliability issues, legal liabilities of non compliance and financial liabilities due to product recalls are a few of the challenges. For example, RoHS, which should have come into existence now, is unfortunately getting delayed in its enforcement due to various reasons.

India Scenario

95% of e-waste collection and disposal in India is primarily handled by the informal sector , in unacceptable conditions. The formal sector is yet to evolve here, though there are 12 such units across the country.

According to a MAIT – GTZ study, India generates close to 400,000 Metric Tons (MT) of e-waste annually and another 50,000 MT is getting added every year. Out of this, only 19,000 MT is re-used! Another 50,000 MT of e-waste is illegally imported into the country, under the guise of donations or being labeled as metal scrap, through porous ports, due to weak enforcements.

Despite issues, the world looks at India in a positive manner. We are signatory to the Basel Convention. The Ministry of Environment and Forests has released a detailed set of guidelines in March 2008. These form the basis for various approvals and registrations and also for suitable legislations. According to Dr. J. Bischoff of GTZ, India is a pioneer amongst developing countries in formulating guidelines for e-waste management. According to him, considerable re-usable and re-furbish market exists in India, which is a positive approach. After all, we Indians never like to throw anything! Culturally, this aspect has been considered as a very positive aspect when it comes to e-waste management and people feel that the education part is likely to be easier!!

Some of the NGOs like SAHAS are taking steps to organize the informal sector and create better conditions for them. This effort has shown some success in India’s IT capital - Bangalore.

Well, let’s hope that we will overcome these issues soon!