E-WASTE MANAGEMENT

E-waste is one of the world's fastest-growing trash streams. We currently manufacture almost 50 million tones of it each year. And as electronics become more widely available, that number is only going to rise. E-waste, or electronic garbage, refers to obsolete, unwanted, or defective electrical and electronic equipment. That includes everything from smartphones to refrigerators that have reached the end of their useful lives.

"Refuse what you do not need; Reduce what you do need;
Reuse what you consume;
Recycle what you cannot refuse, reduce, or reuse;
And compost the rest"

E-waste contains a laundry list of compounds that are hazardous to humans and the environment, including mercury, lead, beryllium, brominated flame retardants, and cadmium, to name a few. These chemicals get up in our land, water, and air when electronics are mismanaged during disposal. Because electronic devices contain the most lethal chemicals and metal, e-waste is far more toxic than much other municipal garbage. Long-term exposure to these chemicals harms the brain, kidney, bone systems, and the reproductive and endocrine systems.

E-Waste greatest Threat to our Planet!!

E-Waste management has become a major challenge as it directly affects human health and the environment, and this is happening due to the lack of awareness. The growing problem of E-waste calls for greater emphasis on recycling E-waste and better E-management.

Proper control over the material used in the manufacturing process is important to reduce waste generation (Freeman1989). The quantity of waste generated can be reduced by reducing the number of hazardous materials used in the process and the amount of excess raw materials in stock. This can be done in two ways, i.e., establishing material-purchase review and control procedures and inventory tracking system.

Developing review procedures for all material purchased is the first step in establishing an inventory management program. Procedures should require that all materials be approved prior to purchase. All production materials are evaluated in the approval process to examine if they contain hazardous constituents and whether alternative non-hazardous materials are available.

Another inventory management procedure for waste reduction is to ensure that only the needed quantity of material is ordered. This will require the establishment of a strict inventory tracking system. Purchase procedures must be implemented, ensuring that materials are ordered only on an as-needed basis and that only the amount needed for a specific period of time is ordered. Manufacturers should be responsible for managing the end-of-life of their products to get motivated to make the environmentally beneficial design.

TODAY'S ELECTRONIC ------- GADGET

TOMMORROW'S ELECTRONIC -------- WASTE

A TOOL FOR A CLEANER ENVIRONMENT

The government passed the first law in 2011, based on Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), which makes manufacturer liable for managing the final stage of the life of its product in an eco-friendly way and ensure environmentally sound management Extended Producer's Responsibility (EPR) certificate or license is mandatory for every producer/importer producing electric or electrical equipment. It encourages the manufacturers to produce environment-friendly products. EPR Authorization is issued by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) under MoEFCC, Government of India. As per the guidelines, manufacturers and importers needs to tie-up with the authorized recycler to dispose of the E-Waste and submit all the plans related to the estimated dump quantity and method adopted for disposal in CPCB to get the EPR Certificate. In short, the product's manufacturer is responsible for the product's ultimate recycling, reuse, or disposal.

EPR Mandatory Product List

2 major product categories require EPR Authorization as follows.

• Information Technology and Telecommunication equipment
• Consumer Electrical and Electronics

IT AND TELECOMMUNICATION EQUIPMENT

• Centralized Data Processing: Mainframes, Mini-Computers, Personal Computers, Laptop, Notebook Computers and accessories, Notepad
• Printers including components
• Copying Equipment
• Electrical and Electronic Typewriters
• User Terminals and Systems
• Facsimile
• Telex
• Telephones
• Pay Telephones
• Cordless Telephones
• Cellular Telephones

Consumer Electrical and Electronics

• LCD and LED Television Sets
• Refrigerator
• Washing Machine
• Air-Conditioners excluding Centralized Air Conditioning Plants
• Fluorescent and other Mercury-containing lamps

Steps for making an application for EPR authorization

1. Documentation: Applicant needs to prepare all required document with EPR Plan for EPR authorization before submission of the application.
2. Filling Application in prescribed format: Applicant needs to fill detailed information in prescribed application form with EPR plan.
3. Offline submission of application: Applicant need to submit offline application with detailed information of producer and EPR plan to concerned department for ETA.
4. Scrutiny of application: CPCB official will scrutinize the application and EPR plan is evaluated by CPCB for approval. If the documents presented are incomplete then CPCB official may respond with checklist within 25 days for clarification purpose.
5. Grant of EPR approval: Chairman of CPCB shall approve the EPR plan as scrutinized by concerned officials. After approval of EPR plan, the divisional head issues the EPR authorization.

Document Requirements for EPR Certificate

The following documents are required to be submitted along with Form-1:

1. Documents related to EPR plan.
2. Details of proposed awareness programmes and allied initiatives.
3. Estimated budget earmarked for Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR)
4. Copies of agreement document with dealers, collection centers, dismantlers, recyclers, treatment, storage and disposal facilities (TSDFs) etc.
5. Self-declaration for compliance of RoHS in prescribed format.
6. The technical documents (supplier declaration- description of product, document for materials, parts, and/or sub-assemblies and analytical test result)
7. Copy of the permissions/licenses from the relevant ministry/department for marketing various products or for doing the business as given below:
• TIN details
• PAN details
• Incorporation certificate
• Copy IEC in case of importers
8. Copy of authorization issued by the SPCBs/PCCs

TIMELINE

CPCB shall provide EPR authorization within 120 days of receiving a complete application, as per E-Waste regulations. In case of incomplete application, the CPCB may verify the application and respond with a check list within 25 days.

Note: Agreement will be signed for 1 year, and the Certificate granted will be valid for 5 years.