BENGALURU: The Centre has notified new rules, increasing the number of items that come under the e-waste category. In a gazette notification issued on November 2 by the Ministry of Environment the items in the list has been increased to 106 from 21. For Karnataka, it is of much importance as the state is among the top e-waste generators.
The notification states that the new E-Waste (Management) Rules, 2022, will come into effect from the next FY.Freezers, vacuum cleaners, dish washing machines, microwaves, modems, GPS, routers, cordless telephones, video cameras, recorders, set top boxes, video games, appliances used for sewing, knitting, weaving and so on are among the 86 items on the new e-waste list.
Asked about the new rules, an official of the KSPCB told TNIE that the state generated around 1.2 lakh tonnes of e-waste in the 2021-2022 FY. “The new rule will definitely create a massive surge in e-waste generation from next FY. However, there needs to be some digital tracking system. At present, there is a staff shortage to monitor the volume of waste generated,” he said.
The rules introduces an Extended Producer Responsibility Framework whereby the manufacturer, producer, refurbisher or recycler of the e-products need to compulsorily register under one or more of these categories, if applicable.