JOIN USWith more than 25 crore mobile phones being discarded by users each year, the Union Environment Ministry has come up with a new draft plan that would suggest how best the electronic waste (e-waste) can be disposed off.
One of the key features of the draft E-waste (Management) Rules 2015 is to financially reward the user, if the person deposits the equipment with a designated e-waste collection centres. Setting up the collection centres would be responsibility of manufacturers.
“A portion of the selling price will be retained by the producer and will be refundable to the consumer once the end of life products are channelised in the prescribed method,” according to the draft, which are open to public comments till July 31.
Though there is hardly any data on the quantity of e-waste generated in India, a decade-old study by the Central Pollution Control Board estimated generation of 1.47 lakh tonnes of e-waste in 2005, which was to increase to 8 lakh tonnes by 2012. The rising trend continues. More than 70 per cent of the waste is generated in 10 states – Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Delhi, Karnataka, Gujarat,
Madhya Pradesh and Punjab. There are 23 e-waste recycling units having the total capacity of 90,000 tonnes per year.
Sixty five cities generate more than 60 per cent of the total e-waste in India, says a 2011 report prepared by the Rajya Sabha.
Among the top ten cities generating e-waste, Mumbai ranks first followed by Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Pune, Surat and Nagpur.