Over 354,000 tonnes of e-waste was collected, processed in FY21: Minister

Over 3.54 lakh tonnes of e-waste was collected and processed in FY21, up from 2.24 lakh tonnes in the previous financial year, Parliament was informed on Wednesday.

Based on annual reports submitted by 35 State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs)/ Pollution Control Committees (PCCs) to CPCB, 22,700.33 tonnes of e-waste was collected and processed in FY17, 69,413.619 tonnes in FY18, 1,64,662.993 tonnes in FY19, 2,24,041 tonnes in FY20 and 3,54,540.7 tonnes in FY21, Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar said in a written reply to a query in the Lok Sabha.

"Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) is the policymaker for management of e-waste in the country, and has notified the E-Waste (Management) Rules, 2016. Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and SPCBs/PCCs are the regulating agencies," he added.

Under the Rules, producers and their service providers, dismantlers, recyclers, refurbishers are responsible for the collection of e-waste, the minister said adding that SPCBs/PCCs provide information on e-waste collected and processed in their respective States/UT to CPCB.

"E-waste, as such, when collected and stored in a safe and secured manner, does not cause any harm or adverse effects on the health and environment within the prescribed guidelines issued by MoEF&CC," Chandrasekhar said.

He added that e-waste causes an adverse effect when unscientific methods and crude technology, outside those prescribed in the guidelines, are used for recovery of material from e-waste without pollution control measures or when e-waste is disposed of in an open environment.