Will India’s bet on new policy to tackle e-waste pay off?

On january 29, during his monthly radio programme Mann Ki Baat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi highlighted the issue of electronic waste (e-waste) accumulation in India. He referred to a report by the UN, stating that a staggering 50 million tonnes of e-waste is discarded annually. Modi brought out the context of this scale by pointing out that the weight of all commercial planes ever constructed put together would be less than that of the e-waste being generated. In fact, he likened the rate of e-waste disposal to discarding 800 laptops every single second.

The PM’s decision to address the mounting problem of e-waste is not without reason. India currently ranks third among the largest generators of e-waste globally, behind only China and the US. The volume of e-waste in India has witnessed a significant surge—from 700,000 tonnes in 2017-18 to 1.6 million tonnes in 2021-22 (see chart). This explosion is being fed by a parallel explosion of electronic goods’ consumption in India, with over 17 million TV sets, 148 million smartphones, 14 million refrigerators, 19 million audio devices and 6.5 million washing machines being sold across the country annually and growing, according to industry experts.

However, the issue extends beyond mere waste management. It also poses a significant environmental and health concern. E-waste consists of various hazardous substances, including lead, mercury and cadmium, which, if not disposed of properly, can contaminate the environment and lead to health problems. Adding to the challenge, a staggering 85 per cent of burgeoning e-waste is managed by the unorganised sector, primarily consisting of scrap dealers scattered across the country. “India’s e-waste problem is complex, driven by the growing electronics market and rapid technological advancements,” says Prabhu Ram, Head of the Industry Intelligence Group (IIG) at CyberMedia Research.

Fully aware of the enormity of this challenge, the government has acknowledged the imperative to promptly and decisively tackle the issue of e-waste, and introduced the new E-Waste (Management) Rules, 2022, which supersede the previous regulations established in 2016. “India’s e-waste policy was designed in 2011 and a lot of amendments were made in 2016 and 2018. Now, we have a new set of e-waste rules which was announced in 2022. In 11 years, the policy underwent several changes, keeping in tune with global demands and our own requirements in India,” says Ravi Neeladri, CEO of Cerebra Green, which offers recycling and refurbishing services to major companies.

By broadening the scope of products subject to recycling to include several new things (more on that later), establishing rigorous recycling standards, promoting the principles of a circular economy, and ensuring that only technologically advanced recyclers are involved, the new rules have a lot of muscle. But it is the diligent implementation of these rules that can result in generating value within the ecosystem and enabling India to tackle its e-waste problem. Let’s take a deeper look.

Scope of Products

The government aims to broaden the scope of the new rules by expanding their coverage. Unlike the 2016 regulations, which were limited to 21 varieties of electrical and electronic equipment falling under two broad classifications, namely information technology (IT) and telecommunication equipment, as well as consumer electricals and electronics, the 2022 regulations encompass over 100 types of equipment categorised under seven groups listed in Schedule I, referred to as “Covered Items”. The newly incorporated equipment includes tablets, GPS devices, modems, electronic storage units, solar photovoltaic panels/cells/modules, air purifiers, leisure and sports apparatus, medical devices, laboratory instruments, and many more, covering an entire spectrum of digital devices.

A welcome addition is the updated responsibilities for manufacturers of solar photovoltaic modules, panels, or cells, acknowledging the growing demand for solar panels. “While the shift towards clean and renewable energy through solar power is highly desirable, it is crucial to have an effective mechanism in place for responsibly managing the resulting waste from solar panels,” explains Radhika Kalia, MD at RLG Systems India, a part of the Germany-headquartered Reverse Logistics Group.

With the implementation of such mechanisms, responsible e-waste management is expected to be promoted, leading to a reduction in practices that are detrimental to both health and the environment. Yet, while it’s a good move, there is scope for improvement, says Nitin Gupta, Founder & CEO of Attero Recycling. According to Gupta, the coverage under Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) comprises over 500 products internationally, whereas in India it is merely 100 products.

Participation and compliance

Expanding coverage to a wider range of devices is just one part of the new policy. The government is putting the onus on electronics manufacturers by ensuring they participate and comply in managing their products’ end-of-life stages. To start with, all manufacturers, producers, refurbishers and recyclers are required to register on a portal developed by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). This helps ensure that e-waste is managed by authorised and regulated entities. The industry believes this new regime might lead to better, more formal recycling practices, and decrease the amount of e-waste handled informally as manufacturers and producers of electronic goods wo­uld now be responsible for efficient disposal. Penalties for non-compl­iance, including fines and imprison­ment, are expected to deter producers from dodging their responsibilities and encourage them to participate in the management of e-waste.

Secondly, producers of the newly included electronic and electrical equipment (EEE) have been assigned annual recycling targets. “These may be based on waste generation from previously sold EEE or on sales of EEE, as the case may be. The target is set to incrementally increase from 60 per cent of their end of life as specified by CPCB for the years 2023-24 and 2024-25 to 80 per cent for 2027-28 and 2028-29,” explains Kalia.

The government has also introduced a new provision for the generation and transaction of EPR certificates, under which the quantity recycled will be computed based on end products to avoid any false claims. To make this process foolproof, the government plans to introduce provisions for environmental compensation and verification and audit.

Wealth from waste

In addition to curtailing informal e-waste practices and preventing the introduction of hazardous substances into the environment, the adoption of scientific recycling methods offers the opportunity to recover valuable metals like copper, aluminium, iron, gold, silver, and nickel. E-waste contains 17 precious metals, which can be extracted through proper recycling. However, currently, only 15-17 per cent of e-waste undergoes formal recycling. By employing scientific techniques, it is possible to obtain pure precious metals and reintegrate them into a circular ecosystem. These metals can then be utilised by industries, fostering self-reliance in the procurement of critical metals, as explained by Gupta.

The rules also mandate that every producer of EEE and their components shall ensure their products do not contain lead, mercury, and other hazardous sub­s­tances beyond the maximum pr­e­scribed concentration. These me­asures aim to ensure that manufacturers participate in and comply with managing products’ end-of-life stages.

With the new policy, India has raised its bar. Ram of CyberMedia Research says this approach is in line with international practices that emphasise the responsibility of producers in managing the environmental impact of their products. As the implementation of the new rules commenced in April 2023, Neeladri of Cerebra Green believes that in the short term, the country will see an upsurge in remarketing/refurbishment of electronic products. The new rules will create a well-organised sector in the long term, generating revenue, employment and self-reliance for raw materials in the manufacturing sector.

Certainly, the new regulations do look good, and could help India make significant strides in sustainably managing its e-waste. The devil now lies in the implementation.

@nidhisingal