Electronic Waste

Govt plans 'repairability index' for mobile, electronics to tackle e-waste

India is planning a repairability index for mobile phones and electronic products to address the growing e-waste problem and encourage manufacturers to produce more easily repairable items, officials said on Thursday. The Consumer Affairs Ministry is spearheading the initiative, which will provide a score on key parameters to inform consumers about the ease with which a product can be repaired, the officials said at a national workshop on the issue. Addressing the workshop, Consumer Affairs Secretary Nidhi Khare said: "As India emerges as the third largest economy in the world, we should have a vibrant and tech-savvy repair system." She also added, "India can become a repair hub for the world." The proposed index will be similar to initiatives in other countries, such as France's repairability index. It will rate products on criteria including availability of technical documents, ease of disassembly, spare parts availability and pricing. The workshop was aimed at establishing a ..

India sees fastest growth in electronic waste generation: Unctad report

Unctad report says country saw a 163% jump in E-waste generation between 2010-22

Ministry of environment releases SOP for lead-acid battery recycle

The SOP aims to regulate the import, transport, and recycling of lead-bearing waste while minimising environmental and health risks

Mobile retail firm Celekt launches 'Mission E-waste' to protect environment

'Celekt Mobiles', a mobile retail chain on Friday announced the launch of 'Mission E-waste', an initiative aimed at combating electronic waste in India. 'Mission E-waste'-- initiative entails the installation of dedicated e-waste bins in every Celekt Mobiles store, allowing customers to responsibly dispose defunct mobiles, laptops, tablets and other electronic devices, a release said here. As a token of appreciation for this responsible action, customers will receive discount coupons ranging from Rs 1,000 to Rs 10,000, redeemable for up to six months on new purchases from Celekt stores, it said. Telangana Minister for IT and Industries K T Rama Rao, who inaugurated the 'Mission E-waste', expressed concern over the prevalent practice of retaining unused or malfunctioning devices rather than properly discarding them. The Minister praised Celekt Mobiles for the initiative and underscored the importance of their efforts in addressing the growing e-waste crisis, the release said. Cele

India collected 527,131 tonne e-waste in FY22, half of it from Haryana

India generated more than 1.6 million tonne of e-waste in FY22, up from 1.3 million tonne in FY21

India needs a tech platform for e-waste recycling

A collaborative effort between government, the regulator, producers and recyclers is required to ensure that the electronic waste is recycled

Govt to set up expert groups to explore adoption of common chargers

The government will set up expert groups to explore the adoption of common chargers for mobile and all portable electronic devices and submit a detailed report in two months, Consumer Affairs Secretary Rohit Kumar Singh said on Wednesday. Emerging out of the meeting with industry stakeholders, the secretary said India can initially think of exploring shifting to two types of chargers, including a C-Type port. "It is a complex issue. India has a position in the manufacturing of chargers. We have to understand everybody's perspective -- industry, the users, manufacturers and environment -- before taking a final decision," he said told reporters. Each stakeholder has a different perspective and expert groups will be formed to examine separately those issues, he said. Separate expert groups will be formed to study charging ports used in three segments -- mobile and feature phones, laptops and ipads, and wearable electronic devices. The groups will be notified this month and will submi

Import of refurbished Apple devices denied due to e-waste worries: Minister

The government rejected an application for the import of refurbished Apple iPhone and iPads as it will expedite e-waste generation in the country, Parliament was informed on Wednesday. Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar in a written reply to the Lok Sabha said that under the Foreign Trade Policy, 2015-20, import of refurbished or re-conditioned spares of refurbished parts of personal computers, laptops is restricted and refurbished or re-conditioned spares of capital goods is free. In response to question whether the government has denied permission for import of used Apple iPhone and iPads which are sold as Apple Certified and pre-owned after repair by the original equipment manufacturer, Chandrasekhar said, "Yes, Sir. "An application from M/s Apple India Limited was received in the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MoEF&CC) in April, 2015 seeking permission for import of used Apple I-Phone and I-pads which are sold as Apple ...

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, ..

Hulladek Recycling takes on electronic waste with a door-to-door service

As of now, however, there are merely 300 registered e-waste recyclers in the country