Changes to India's E-waste (Management) Rules, October 2016
by Emma Mundy at 15:40 in Environmental, WEEE
WEEE Legislation has been active in India since 2011, however an update in October has made some changes to their e-waste (management) rules. Read our blog to ensure you have all the information on the changes and to keep yourselves compliant.
What is it?
On October 1 2016 E-Waste (Management) Rules 2016 came into force in India.
The previous E-Waste Management rules of 2011 were deemed inefficient and the new rules bring about a number of changes in order to ensure that more e-waste is recycled and disposed of correctly in India.
Am I affected?
The rules apply to manufacturers, producers, consumers, bulk consumers, collection centres, dealers, e-retailers, refurbishers, dismantlers, and recyclers involved in the manufacture, sale, transfer, purchase, collection, storage and processing of e-waste listed in schedule 1 of the regulations.
In a similar style to the EU WEEE Directive producer means any person, irrespective of the selling technique used that:
- manufactures and offers to sell electrical and electronic equipment and their components or consumables or parts or spares under its own brand; or
- offers to sell under its own brand, assembled electrical and electronic equipment and their components or consumables or parts or spares produced by other manufacturers or suppliers; or
- offers to sell imported electrical and electronic equipment and their components or consumables or parts or spares;
Items in scope of the e-waste legislation in India come under schedule one and are split into Information technology and telecommunications equipment and consumer electrical and electronics.
What do I need to do?
Obligated manufacturers must apply for an authorisation from the State Pollution Control Board through filling out Form 1 detailed in the legislation. The regulations state that they must ensure that no damage is caused to the environment during storage and transportation of e-waste and records of the e-waste generated must be maintained and made available to the State Pollution Control Board.
Annual returns must be filed with the State Pollution Control Board on or before 30th June following the obligation year.
What's changed?
Quite a lot has changed since the 2011 regulations were introduced. Here's a rundown of what's new in the 2016 version.
- There are now more definitions for obligated parties that have been introduced which include manufacturer, dealer, refurbisher, and producer responsibility organisation
- A collection based approach has now been enacted which includes collection points, collection centres and take back systems.
- Distributors now have the responsibility to set up collection points for waste EEE on behalf of producers.
- A list of the items in scope is detailed in schedule 1 of the regulations, this existed in the 2011 regulations but the 2016 regulations bring items such as components, consumables, spares and parts of EEE into scope alongside the items listed in schedule 1. Compact fluorescent lamps are also now included in schedule 1.
- Targets have now been introduced. During the first two years of implementation of the rules the e-waste collection target is 30% if the quantity of waste generation, increasing over the years.
- Producers now have options as to how they want to deal with their e-waste. They can set up a producer responsibility organisation, deposit refund system or an e-waste exchange.
- Provisions on RoHS have now been brought in line with EU regulations and products can now be withdrawn or recalled from the market if they do not comply with the RoHS provisions set out in the legislation.
If you have any queries on the changes to the law in India, your producer status or your reporting obligations for WEEE compliance please do not hesitate to get in touch with us here.
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