The upcoming e-waste law is expected to encourage manufacturers to roll out ‘green’ products and as well as organise the e-waste management sector in the country

The forthcoming e-waste management rules that will make it mandatory for manufacturers of electronic equipment to collect and safely dispose damaged electronic items. Failure to abide by the rules will call for fines, which can very well lead to price hike of electronic items. Although the rule does not specifically mention anything about increasing costs for end consumers, a section in the clause states that manufacturers will have the freedom to levy charges or give discounts for recycling activities.

The e-waste legislation is still under discussion within the Ministry of Environment and is expected to come into effect by the end of this year. The Union and the respective state governments will shoulder half the cost of setting up recycling units, while the remaining half will have to come from private firms.

A major cause of concern is that the country is being used as a dumping ground for e-waste by several other nations. Analysts believe that with the laws coming to effect, India will stop serving as an e-waste dumping zone for these countries.

E-waste generation on a rise

At present, nearly 90% of the country’s e-waste is generated from used mobile phones, computer hardware etc, which are recycled under hazardous conditions. In this context, Vijay Rathore, director of Total Recycling, a mid-sized e-waste processing unit in Mumbai, says, “The e-waste management sector in India is highly unorganised. Most consumers tend to discard their damaged electronic equipment to vendors who do not have the expertise to recycle these products in a proper manner. Apart from contaminating the environment, this also endangers their lives. The proposed e-waste rules will help the e-waste recycling sector to become organised.” Moreover, organised recyclers in the country also opine that they are unable to utilise the full capacity of their plants as most of the e-waste is recycled by the unorganised sector.

A recent report by the United Nations predicts India’s e-waste from old and damaged computers to rise manifold by 2020. A recent survey conducted by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) states that India’s e-waste generation is expected to touch 8 lakh tonnes (lt) by 2012 from 1.47 lt in 2005. With the telecom industry growing by leaps and bounds in the country, e-waste generated from mobile phones completing their life cycle will also witness a significant rise.

Consumers to pay more

The law is going to cut a whip on all those organisations that tend to sell off their damaged electronic equipment in the grey market instead of returning them to companies registered by the State Pollution Control Boards. “The proposed legislation will definitely ensure that manufacturers invest more in R&D activities to manufacture ‘green’ products. But a portion of the cost of recycling can be passed on to consumers as companies taking back their products will spend a significant amount to recycle the same,” comments Dayal Singh, proprietor of High Rise E-waste Management, a mid-sized e-waste recycling unit in Noida. Mr Singh also added that the cost of recycling can well be settled by the new products manufactured by the firms.

Arup Choudhury