Management of medical, electronic waste involves no easy solutions

A sizeable amount of this waste either remains untreated or is handled by the unorganised sector in the most clumsy and crude manner

New rules notified by the environment ministry for the management of electronic waste (e-waste) and biomedical waste, though markedly better than the earlier norms, seem to fall short on some key issues. The most critical among these is that, despite easing of goals, their execution may be difficult. Both electronic and medical waste are highly hazardous for human health as well as the environment and, therefore, need to be disposed of in a safe and scientifically sound manner. But existing capacity and expertise in this field are limited. A sizeable amount of this waste either remains untreated or is handled