State pollution control board moots stringent rules from May 2012 which will focus on e-waste management and extended responsibilities.
As e-waste is getting piled up, managing it has become a major problem. However, the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) has found a new way to tackle this issue.
Come May 2012, the board will implement a new set of rules for e-waste management.
The E-waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2011, is formulated by the central government. “In the last decade, e-waste generated all over the country had increased many times. Thus, the government saw it necessary to have a separate set of e-waste rules under its environment protection act,” said SM Puttabuddhi, member secretary of the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board.
As of now, e-waste comes under hazardous waste (management and handling) rules. However, the new rule will focus on e-waste management and extended responsibilities.
“There are three to four industries in Karnataka that facilitate recycling of e-waste in the state. In the coming months, another two to three organisations will join the group and tackle e-waste,” said Puttabuddhi.
“The new rule on e-waste management has responsibilities fixed at all levels, including on manufacturers, dealers, sub-dealers, distributors and consumers of electronic products. According to the new rule, if your computer is not working, you cannot dump it anywhere,” said DR Kumarswamy, senior environmental officer, dealing with e-waste management.
“One should go back to the dealer with the faulty computer. The dealer, in turn, should get in touch with the manufacturer for the proper disposal of the system,” he said. The same rule applies for refrigerator, washing machine and a many other electronic products that we use at home or office.
If your computer is not branded, you should get in touch with the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike, which will dispose of the e-waste.
“The BBMP is going to have an e-waste collection centre shortly and will dispose it according to KSPCB rules,” said Kumaraswamy.
Apart from bulbs and a particular kind of dry batteries, a set procedure had been derived to dispose of every form of e-waste, said Puttabuddhi.
If the metals present inside any electronic product — be it an electronic wire, or a CPU of a computer — are not removed before destroying the e-waste, it could harm environment. Thus proper disposal of e-waste was necessary, he said.
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