Key changes proposed by the draft e-waste management rules need careful consideration
Key changes proposed by the draft e-waste management rules need careful consideration
A decade has passed since the e-waste (management and handling) rules came into force in India last month. Since then the rules have been amended several times. The most recent amendment is the draft E-waste Management Rules, 2022, which was released by the environment ministry in May 2022 for public comments. Despite retaining the underlying Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) framework, the new draft rules differ significantly from the previous rules.
e-waste market
A major change is the introduction of a market for e-waste recycling certificates. The draft rules state that producers of e-goods must ensure that at least 60% of the e-waste they produce is recycled by 2023. This shift from the collection rate target (which sets the target for e-waste collection as a percentage to the amount of products sold by weight in the market in the previous year) to the recycling rate target in existing regulations is another addition to the proposed regulations. Important change.
The proposed market for recycling e-waste seems unrealistic. First, large-scale recycling of e-waste in India is still in its infancy. Most of the valuable material is recycled within the informal sector, using inefficient and unsafe technologies. At a time when the technical feasibility and commercial viability of various recycling techniques and approaches for e-waste components are being worked out in India, the target of recycling 60% of the e-waste generated in 2022-23 seems too optimistic. Is. Second, if the regulatory goal was to create a vibrant market for recycling, existing formal and informal players would have to play an important role. In light of this, there is complete silence on regulating the registered collectors, dismantlers and producer liability organizations. Who will ensure that these institutions are discharging their responsibilities in an environmentally safe manner? Or are these entities no longer covered under the EPR framework?
In addition, the informal sector accounts for the vast majority of processed e-waste in India. Much of the e-waste policy debate has centered around the integration of the informal sector into formal systems. However, the proposed rules place the responsibility of such integration on the state governments, without specifying what incentives are there for them to do so.
The experience of European countries shows that recycling targets will be more difficult for regulators to monitor and enforce than collection targets. Does the recycling target apply to each component of an e-product or does it apply to its total mass? This is important as the technical complexity and cost can vary by component. If it is by weight, as indicated by regulations, it may encourage recycling of materials that are easy and inexpensive (plastic, copper, glass) to recycle as opposed to materials that are expensive and technically costly. are more difficult to recycle but probably have a greater environmental footprint (rare earth metals). If the ministry and the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) decide to go ahead with recycling targets, they should come up with guidelines on how regulated entities should demonstrate compliance with the targets.
Powers of Steering Committee
The other major change is the introduction of a Steering Committee to oversee the “overall implementation, monitoring and supervision” of the regulations. For example, this committee has the power to decide on a product-wise “conversion factor” that determines the value of a recycling certificate, specifies how the environmental compensation fund can be used, resolves disputes, etc. , and “any difficulty in the smooth implementation of these rules may be removed.” While such an institutional mechanism may provide greater certainty in implementation, there is a lack of representation in the committee. Rules to the Chairman of the CPCB As the chairman of the committee, which will include representatives from the Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Electronics and IT, and associations of producers and recyclers, it is surprising that the representation of science/academics and civil society organizations is not considered appropriate. Is.
The draft e-waste rules propose some positive changes, including expanding the definition of e-waste, specifying more clearly the penalties for violation of the rules, an environmental compensation fund based on the ‘polluter pay’ principle. Including starting and recognizing informal waste. staff. However, the proposed major changes within the EPR framework require careful consultation with all relevant stakeholders before finalizing the rules.
Ram Mohana Turga and Kalyan Bhaskar teach sustainability and public policy at IIM Ahmedabad and XLRI, Jamshedpur respectively. thoughts are personal