As technology increasingly becomes a part of everyday lives, waste management of tech equipments such as computers, printers, laptops in large quantities becomes imperative. The e-waste management act was passed in 2011 which laid down several policies for the management and disposal of e-waste in India. This act also included the extended producer responsibility (EPR) policy which puts the responsibility of disposal of e-waste on the producer no matter how many times the product changes hands.

However, people know little about the act, let alone that the responsibility of e-waste disposal lies on the original producer. As a first in a series of awareness workshops, Manufacturers Association for Information Technology (MAIT), Government of India and Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) organised a conference for awareness on e-waste rules for bulk consumers, including government organisations.

Sushil Kumar, additional secretary, ministry of environment and forests said that making laws and acts is merely an aspirational act. “We need to spread awareness about the act. What we are doing now should have been done in the beginning of 2012. MAIT, FICCI and ASSOCHAM should organise a CEO summit to discuss this issue,” he said.

Kumar said that responsible disposal of e-waste is one of the most important corporate social responsibilities of the companies. “It is not just an important CSR activity, it is also a compliance issue,” he said.

Kumar also urged that the producers need to come on board in a big way, because according to EPR policies, the ultimate responsibility lay with them. In the absence of producers, 'kabadiwallahs' or local scrap collectors fill the void to collect e-waste from various locations. These kabadiwallahs however, are not accountable for its proper disposal. “We need to make sure that nothing from bulk consumers goes to the kabadiwallahs but to right retailers,” said Kumar.

Amit Sardana, Managing Director, Dataserve APAC agreed with Kumar on both issues and said that e-waste disposal is indeed a compliance issue more than anything else. About kabadiwallahs and the resultant problems due to unsafe e-waste disposal, Sardana said, “Let the e-waste not go to organised and formal kabadiwallahs as it can cause massive damage and problems in the next three to five years. E-waste dumping has already killed many cities.”

Kumar stressed on the need to make the CEOs, company heads and government employees aware of the e-waste rules. “A civilisation needs to take care of its waste to survive,” he said.

A number of companies try to extract revenues from e-waste disposal by quoting high prices from the recyclers. These prices are sometimes more than the 'reserve price' or the minimum price for bidding for a specific kind of e-waste. In such a situation, recyclers face a tough time buying products for recycling which hampers the disposal of e-waste. Expressing his concern on this practice, Kumar said that e-waste is not a revenue extraction exercise, especially for high earning companies. “Committees need to fix the reserve price; CAG does not reserve prices, committees do,” he said.

Sardana informed that the companies disposing e-waste should also take into account the cost of disposing hazardous materials while calculating the selling price. “The reserve price does not include this cost therefore most recyclers do not care about disposing hazardous waste safely,” said Sardana.

Another basic issue of the e-waste management cycle is the determination of the 'end-of-life' (EOL) of an electronic product. Kumar suggested that members of CPCB and MAIT can form guidelines for identifying the EOL of a product. “The committee can also form guidelines for calculation of reserve price and for value of the disposed product,” said Kumar.

Sardana said that the value of the product at EOL can be calculated by calculating the cost of its salvageable materials. He also urged for better collection mechanisms including online bidding methods for better collection and disposal of e-waste. “The most important aspects of e-waste disposal is data security, compliance and ethical recycling,”said Sardana.