In an era of growing consumerism and waste generation, the need for a strict set of regulations for waste management has increased. To achieve this target, the Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has issued EPR regulations that put a direct onus on manufacturers, importers, and brand owners to manage the disposal of electrical and electronic products responsibly. EPR regulations encourage the use of green technology, recycling, and reusing methods to sustainably manage the E-waste in the nation. Since the producers, importers, and brand owners have been complying with the EPR framework, the recycling industry has been improving day by day. There has been an introduction of new technologies, methods, and techniques to use the e-waste responsibly to save the environment from harmful toxins and chemicals that the e-waste contains.
This blog discusses the impact of EPR on recycling technology in India and its influence on the stakeholders.
Understanding EPR – An effective method for E-waste management
EPR stands for Extended Producer Responsibility which is a set of regulations to make PIBOs directly responsible for the management, collection, disposal, and recycling of the E-waste. EPR was established under the E-Waste Management Rules. 2016 and was revised in the year 2022.
According to this set of regulations, the PIBOs are required to register themselves on the official portal of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) to obtain an EPR certificate for e-waste. The certification serves as proof of EPR compliance by the manufacturers, importers, and brand owners. To follow the regulations, they need to manufacture their products using sustainable methods & green technology that makes the recycling process easier. Apart from that, they must collaborate with authorized collectors and recyclers to manage the end-of-life disposal and recycling of their electrical & electronic products.
How does EPR formalize recycling?
Due to the EPR compliance requirements, the recycling process is becoming stronger with the increasing number of recycling centers and authorized recyclers. Before the implementation of EPR rules, there was no proper management of the e-waste generated regularly. Most of the e-waste ended up in landfills and water bodies which severely affected the environment and caused land and water pollution due to the presence of harmful chemicals and toxins in electric and electronic products.
With the establishment and implementation of the EPR regulations, the responsibility of overseeing the registration, and collection target is with the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). Due to a proper infrastructure in place, it has now become easier to track the collection and recycling targets and make violators pay for the irresponsible disposal that causes harm to the environment. The PIBOs who have completed their EPR registration for e-waste are permanently under the watch of the managing authorities which encourages and promotes the use of recycling methods all over the country.
Before EPR regulations were in place, the waste generated from electrical and electronic products used to end up in the environment causing environmental harm was handled by untrained collectors. The methods used for disposal and recycling were unsafe for the workers and weren’t as effective as they are now. With the advent of the EPR process, there are well-managed tracking, documentation, and tracking methods and urge producers to work only with certified recyclers to increase the efficiency of e-waste management. The EPR rules for e-waste management ensure safer methods and techniques of recycling for the workers. This increases the investment in the recycling industry helping India to achieve domestic and international sustainable goals.
Conclusion
In today’s time, recycling of e-waste is an essential requirement to ensure sustainable disposal and recycling of the e-waste to promote a circular economy and reduce greenhouse emissions. To achieve this goal, the stakeholders need to raise awareness about the importance of EPR compliance and encourage producers, importers, and brand owners to obtain the EPR certificate for e-waste.
The process of getting the same might be complex for some new businesses, but it can be made simple if they approach an experienced EPR consultant such as Brand Liaison. The EPR consultant can help you with the process of application, documentation, and handling discrepancies to help you grow in the Indian market and gain consumer trust and credibility.