Please wait...
Please wait...
Latest Searches: Submer , green bulding & Constartion , green , biocoal , cdm , Fabrication Engineers
With electronic and electrical waste (e-waste) emerging as the new by-products of fast economic growth, the Union environment ministry is framing rules that pin the responsibility for disposal on the producer. Eleven recycling units are expected to come up soon to take over from the unorganised sector, which currently handles this hazardous waste in the most primitive manner.
Of the 50 million tonnes of e-waste generated globally, about 400,000 tonnes is from India, the bulk of it from television sets. “The concern is, it is growing at a rate of 10-15 per cent annually in India, whereas the global rate of growth is 3 per cent,” said Ravi Agarwal, Director, Toxics Link, a non-government working on hazardous waste. “At present, 97 per cent of this waste is being recycled in the unorganised sector.”
A four-member committee has been set up to frame the rules which are expected to be notified under the Environment Protection Act (EPA) by the middle of the year, ministry sources said. Penalties for flouting the rules will be prescribed under the EPA. The committee comprises K P Nyati of the Federation of Indian Mineral Industries, Vinnie Mehta of the Manufacturers Association for Information Technology, Purnamita Dasgupta of the Institute of Economic Growth, Delhi, and a representative from the Central Pollution Control Board.
A study by the Electronics Industries Association of India estimates the country has accumulated 380,000 tonnes of electronic waste, expected to go up to 800,000 tonnes in the next four years. “Obsolescence rates are increasing and people are discarding electronic equipment faster than before,” ministry officials said.
