E waste management in

India
Introduction
 Majority of brands operating in India do not have a tangible responsibility to
handle waste that is generated by their goods at end of life stage
The Central Zone bench (Bhopal) of National Green Tribunal (NGT) recently
ordered all producers and manufactures of electrical and electronic equipment
(EEE) in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan to set up collection centres
and take back systems for discarded electronic goods. The bench came down
heavily on producers and manufacturers for failing to implement extended
producer responsibility (EPR), under E-waste rules 2011.
There is only one e-waste collection centre in the whole of Madhya Pradesh. The
situation is no different for most of the states of the country.
EPR is the most defining provision in the e-waste regulation of our country.
According to EPR, manufacturers are responsible for the post-consumer waste of
their respective EEE products. The e-waste rules were notified in 2011 and came
into effect in 2012. It has been three years since the rules were notified and two
years since they came into force but only a handful of companies have come
forward to manage the end of life cycle of the products that have been put by
them in the market.
Where did we go wrong?
 Majority of the brands operating in India do not have a tangible EPR in place
for taking back or managing their end of life EEE. A recent study by non profit
Toxics Link found out that despite having a take back system in place, it does
not function for most brands. The producers/manufacturers do not have
adequate information on their website, customer care representatives do not
have inkling about any take back or recycling programme and even if they
have set up collection centres, they are simply not enough for a
geographically vast country like India. “India being a vast country, setting up
collection mechanism is a big challenge. If any of the brands try individually
to reach out to all corners of the country, it will economically not be
sustainable or feasible,” says Priti Mahesh, senior programme coordinator,
Toxics Link. Another major question in e-waste management in India is how
to include thousands of producers and importers under the ambit of
regulation.
What India should take from other
countries
Other countries need to ensure that they will collect all e-waste from their
market share which is determined by how much of electronics is put into the
market by their members. The take back companies report back to Waste
Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) register and also finance WEEE
register. WEEE register, however is, managed by the government and maintains
all records regarding e-waste in the country.

In contrast, India does not have any data on the electronics being manufactured
and imported in the country. There is no national registry taking account of the
producers operating in the country and the amount of EEE introduced by them in
the market.