E-Waste (Management) Rules, 2022 (Part -1 of 2)

Applicability of the Rules:
These rules shall apply to every manufacturer, producer, refurbisher, dismantler and recycler involved in the manufacture, sale, transfer, purchase, refurbishing, dismantling, recycling and processing of e-waste or electrical and electronic equipment including their components, consumables, parts and spares which make the product operational.
However, this rule shall not be applicable to:

• Waste batteries as covered under the Battery Waste Management Rules, 2022,
• Packaging plastics as covered under the Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016,
• Micro Enterprise as defined in the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Act, 2006, and
• Radio-active wastes as covered under the provisions of the Atomic Energy Act, 1962.

Responsibility of Manufacturers:

• Register on the portal;
• Collect e-waste generated during the manufacture of any electrical and electronic equipment and ensure its recycling or disposal; and

Responsibility of Consumers:
Bulk consumers, including e-retailer of electrical and electronic equipment listed in Schedule I, shall ensure that e-waste generated by them shall be handed over only to the registered producer, refurbisher, or recycler.

Responsibility of Producers of electrical and electronic equipment:

• Create awareness through media, publications, advertisements, posters or by any other means of communication;
• Obtain and implement extended producer responsibility targets as per Schedule III and Schedule IV through the portal.

Responsibility of Refurbishers:

• Collect e-waste generated during the process of refurbishing and hand over the waste to registered recycler and upload information on the portal;
• Ensure that the refurbished equipment shall be as per Compulsory Registration Scheme of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and Standards of Bureau of Indian Standards framed for this purpose;

Responsibility of Recyclers:

• Ensure facility and recycling processes are in accordance with the standards or guidelines laid down by the Central Pollution Control Board;
• Ensure fractions or material not recycled in its facility is sent to the respective registered recyclers;
• Ensure residue generated during the recycling process is disposed of in an authorized treatment storage disposal facility;
• Maintain a record of e-waste collected, dismantled, recycled and sent to registered recycler on the portal and make available all records for verification or audit as and when required;

Every manufacturer, producer, refurbisher and recycler must file annual and quarterly returns in the laid down form on the portal on or before the end of the month succeeding the quarter or year, as the case may be, to which the return relates.

Storage and Transfer of E-wastes:

Every manufacturer, producer, refurbisher and recycler may store the e-waste for a period not exceeding 180 days and shall maintain a record of sale, transfer and storage of e-wastes and make these records available for inspection and the storage of the e-waste shall be done as per the applicable rules or guidelines for the time being in force.
However, the Central Pollution Control Board may extend the said period up to 365 days in case the e-waste needs to be specifically stored for the development of a process for its recycling or reuse.

SW Remarks:
The Ministry of Environment, forest and climate change, has published the E-Waste (Management) Rules, 2022 which shall come into force from April 01, 2023. This is applicable to all electrical devices and radiotherapy equipment, nuclear medicine equipment and accessories, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), electric toys, air conditioners, microwaves, tablets, washing machine, refrigerator and iPad among others.
As per E-Waste (Management) Rules – 2016, Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) was mandatory for producers of specified products and e-retailers were also required to comply with EPR. But now e-retailers have become a part of bulk consumers and correspondingly EPR is not to be undertaken by them.

Pulkit Singh, Audit Associate, SW India

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