E-Waste Management

I started my blog with the topic of e-waste. Now I got couple of questions on the E-Waste Management.
Let us start with the legal requirements.
In India, there is no direct legal requirement for E-Waste handling and management. However, several provisions of the existing laws may apply to various aspects of electronic wastes. E-Waste or its constituents fall under both Hazardous and Non-hazardous waste. In case, it is under the scope of ‘The Hazardous Wastes (Management, Handling and Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2008’, we need to treat them as per the legal requirements.

International Situation:
Basel Convention on transboundary movement of hazardous wastes covers E-Wastes under Annex VIII and is considered as hazardous.
European Union (EU): EU member countries have transposed E-Waste definition
Canada: WEEE / e-waste regulations are in the process of being developed in the provincial level.
Japan: E-waste is covered under the two major laws to promote recycling.
USA: E-waste is covered under USEPA

Though most of the developing countries in the world do not have any specific legal requirements on e-waste, no organisation can deny the requirements of e-waste management. All the organisations that practice Environment Management System (ISO 14001) are expected to manage their e-waste responsibly. Here are few practical ways for E-Waste Management.

For the manufacturers of Electrical and Electronic equipment:
Product Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) – reference can be taken from ISO 14000 series of standards like ISO 14041, 14042, 14062 etc. – This will help them to understand the impact of their equipment or components on environment till the end of the product life.
Based on the LCA, the organisation needs to reduce the hazardous components / inputs through an environmentally sensible design. In fact, reduction of environmental impact should be considered as one of the design inputs for Electrical / electronic products / components / equipment.
This promotes the Waste avoidance and waste minimization at source.
RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances) Compliance – Many countries have adopted the RoHS regulations in the manufacturing segments.
Use of Environmentally sound e-waste treatment technologies: Generally they are used at 3 levels:
a) 1st Level Treatment: Decontamination, Dismantling and Segregation
b) 2nd Level Treatment: Hammering, Shredding and Special Treatment processes
c) 2nd Level Treatment: Recovery

The producers may be required to have a centralized facility for e-waste of their brand as Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR). In EPR, producer is responsible for the entire life cycle of the product – especially for take back, recycle and final disposal of the product.
Producers may provide information on the hazardous constituents present in the equipment, detail booklet on disposals and end uses and list of collection centers

For the Users of Electrical and Electronic Components:

Prevention:
An organisation must start with the identification and classification of E-Waste present in the organisation. Once the identification is complete, they can start Inventorisation of E-Waste. This includes understanding of the definition of e-waste and an awareness of the users.
Based on the inventory output, the organisation needs to set some targets to reduce the generation of e-waste.

Minimization of effect:
While choosing the Electrical / electronic components / equipment, the organisation needs to demand the restricted quantity of hazardous substances present in the equipment. Simply ask for RoHS compliant equipment.

Use of EPR: Ensure that while purchasing, you include Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) in your contract. This will reduce the load of e-waste from the users end and will facilitate Environmentally Sound Treatment (EST) at the producers end

Transfer and promotion of Cleaner technologies: Presently some service providers are available to take your e-waste load and recycle / dispose them in an organized manner.


However, irrespective of the type of organisations we are talking about, we need to remember the following success factors:
1. Top Management Commitment and conviction
2. A structured planning process for e-waste management
3, Understanding of the e-waste generation process throughout the organisation
4. Active Involvement and co-ordination of departments like Design, Purchase, IT and Environment