Legal Waste

August 2007: Task Force for finalizing the Guidelines for
Environmentally Sound Management of e-Waste is formed.

March 2008: Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) posts e-waste
guidelines on its website.

June 2008: A consultation process between the government and the
private stakeholders is kicked off at the The National Workshop on Awareness and
Consultation on Guidelines for Environmentally Sound Management of e-Waste,
organized by MAIT. The event also saw the first public unveiling of the
regulation text.

September 2008: The month by which the e-waste regulation was
expected to be in place and see the first phase of implementation.

December 2009: We still stand at the August 2007 position, and
nothing beyond the guidelines has happened at all.

Aroundtable on e-waste held recently in Delhi (December 15, 2009) predicts
the new deadline for regulations to be March 2010. Whether that happens or not,
the e-waste front already is bubbling with anticipation and activity.

The private players are going beyond playing the corporate social
responsibility card, and are pulling their socks to handle the take back
mechanism in the best possible way. Also, there is another interesting angle
coming up in the e-waste scenariothat of business potential and
entrepreneurship.

Since we first took up the issue in our green section a couple of years back,
we have received countless responses and queries on this one. One of the most
recurring ones happens to be from our student readers many of whom want to know
how they can go about starting a recycling business. A lot of this interest can
be by the virtue of the upcoming legislation and trends in other countries that
indicate the movement towards an organized recycling setup. Whatever it is,
there is no denying that there is tremendous opportunity lying here. Watch this
space for more meat in the future!

Legally Yours

"The government is currently in the process of developing a dedicated set of
rules which would govern the management and handling of electronic waste. These
will be put in the public domain for comments by March 2010. The said draft
rules were jointly proposed and submitted to the government by the MAIT, GTZ,
Greenpeace, and Toxics Link in September 2009. An expert committee constituted
by the Ministry of Environment and Forests is currently reviewing the draft."

This is what Dr Saroj, director, Ministry of Environment & Forest said at the
International Roundtable on Environmentally Sound Management of Electronic Goods
in December 2009.

However, this coming soon trailer has been doing the rounds of the IT
industry for some time now. And till it actually comes into force, we shall
pretend to be immune to the news of any Second Coming for the e-waste
management cause.

What the proposed rules hold is more stress on the responsibility of the
producersmanufacturers and vendors, including financial responsibility,
extending beyond the sales of equipment and setting up of take back systems for
effective management and handling of e-waste. There is also a suggestion for all
stakeholders including the dealers, dismantlers, collectors, recyclers, and the
government agencies to come together for implementation and monitoring of their
responsibilities in tandem. The detailed liabilities and obligations of all
stakeholders have been clearly spelt out in the proposed legislations.

A leg of the draft rules also advocate RoHSthe need to restrict hazardous
substances in electronic equipments. An attempt has also been made to simplify
the various procedures for better compliance.

Given the fact that we are talking about all this in a country like India
does complicate matters in itself. Besides, all this is still on paper and
except the producers rising up to face the issue in an organized manner, there
have been no fireworks from the governments side.

Own Doing

The private sector at least is somewhat of a believer of the
do-it-for-yourself mantra. A lot of giants have sprung up to action to tackle
e-waste and they help produce responsibly, and almost all IT biggies have a take
back policy in place, even if it is knitted loosely.

Eighteen electronic brands, including Nokia, Wipro, HCL, Acer, and Sony
Ericsson have already begun implementing plans on toxic chemical phase-out and
take back of old end-of-life products in India. In the latest edition of the
Greenpeace Guide to Greener Electronics that lists the top green global
companies, the Indian giant, Wipro emerged at the #2 slot, primarily due to its
perked up efforts on the e-waste front. Nokia remains on the top with 7.5 points
(out of 10). Samsung and Wipro are placed jointly in the second position, with
Sony Ericsson, HCL, and Philips making up to the top five in this ranking guide.

HCL also improved its ranking and is the second Indian brand in the top five
global green companies list. HCL too has an improved e-waste recycling rate, and
half of its new products are compliant with the latest energy star rating.
However, HCL has again failed to set targets for its carbon emissions reduction.

Both HCL and Wipro have reiterated that they would launch vinyl plastic (PVC)
and brominated flame retardants (BFRs) free products by the end of 2009. "It is
good to see Indian brands taking their environmental responsibilities more
seriously, and moving into the top bracket of the global green league. We hope
they will turn words into action by launching PVC and BFR free products soon,"
says Abhishek Pratap, toxics and energy campaigner, Greenpeace India.

Greenpeace lifted penalty points from HP for launching a notebook that is
virtually free of PVC and BFRs, and for reprioritizing its toxic PVC and BFR
phase out by 2011. "HP has taken the first step in catching up with Apple, which
eliminated these materials from its product line almost a year ago," says Iza
Kruszewska, toxics campaigner, Greenpeace International, "HPs action now puts
pressure squarely on its competitors to launch more products that are cleaner
and safer."

HP is also taking recycling very seriously. According to Bina Raj Debur,
director, environment management, HP India, "HP works with the Government of
India authorized and HP approved recyclers in India like E-Parisaraa (Bengaluru),
Tes-Amm (Chennai), and TIC Group (Noida). HP is also partnering with MAIT to
look at a collection mechanism that will strengthen the infrastructure required
for the consumer take back program."

LG Electronics plummeted seven places in the report to the eleventh position,
weighed down by a penalty point for backtracking on its timeline to eliminate
PVC and BFRs from its products by the end of 2010. Only its mobile phone range
would be free of these toxic substances as of 2010, while a toxics phase-out in
televisions and monitors has been delayed until 2012. Dell and Lenovo retained
their penalty points for delaying their phase-out commitments indefinitely.
Fujitsu and Lenovo remain at the bottom of the table.

Even though there is certainly some bleak spots in the report, the fact that
the vendors are actively chasing products that are easier to dispose and recycle
is rather apparent. And the fact that they are doing it on their own accord is
rather commendable as well.

The Third Eye

And for the recycling industry, these are the recyclers. With the producers
doing much and the government saying much, what is happening on the recyclers
front? A lot, if we go by the industry buzz. According to some estimates there
are close to 35,000 workers in the informal recycling sector as of now. If the
drive towards an organized sector has to begin, India would need at least double
the number of recycling plants that it has now.

Also, the demand for skilled labor is going to rise substantially. And the
unsaid message is not being ignored by the young entrepreneurs of India. A lot
of planning is happening, and there is already some incidents of unorganized
recycling business owners moving into the organized, formal sector.

Of course, there are financial complications attached with opening such a
business. And we shall not do injustice to this leg of the recycling industry by
shrinking it to the corner of the page.

Watch our green section for the third part of the story. And we promise you,
it wont be a waste!

Mehak Chawla

mehakc@cybermedia.co.in