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E-waste has been defined as “waste electrical and electronic equipment, whole or in part or rejects from their manufacturing and repair process, which are intended to be discarded”. Whereas Electrical and electronic equipment has been defined as “equipment which is dependent on electrical currents or electro-magnetic fields to be fully functional”. The high rates of obsolescence of the above mentioned items coupled with steady rise in the demand have also resulted in substantial growth in e-waste generation. There is no comprehensive and latest inventory of E-waste in the country however, as per preliminary estimates, the annual e-waste generation in India has been estimated to be 0.8 million tonne by 2012. An UN report estimates that the world wide generation of e-waste is around 30 to 50 Million tonne per annum. The E-waste (Management & Handling) Rules, 2011 have been notified with primary objective to channelize the E-waste generated in the country for environmentally sound recycling which is largely controlled by the un-organized sector who are adopting crude practices that results into higher pollution and less recovery, thereby causing wastages of precious resources and damage to environment. MoEF/CPCB after consulting various stake holders felt the need for preparing a guidance document for implementation of the provisions of the E-Waste (Management & Handling) Rules, 2011 that may help the Producers, Consumer & Bulk Consumer, Collection Center, Dismantler, Recycler and Regulatory agencies (SPCBs/PCCs) for effective compliance/implementation of these rules. This document also provides guidance on setting up collection mechanism, dismantling and recycling operations. As the E-waste Rules place main responsibility of e-waste management on the producers of the electrical and electronic equipment by introducing the concept of “extended producer responsibility”(EPR). The scope of implementing such EPRs is also discussed in these guidelines.


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