Many leading electronic and electrical brands continue to shirk their responsibility under e-waste Rules in the country, points out the findings by Toxics link. The report called ‘Time to Reboot-II’ rated 51 Electronic Producers in the country on their actions and initiatives as per the e-waste Rules. Toxics link is an environmental NGO, working on various issues of pollution including e-waste.
It has found 17 Producers in red category or firms found to be showing minimal or no effort towards e-waste
management. Nearly 7 brands had failed to score, signifying serious non-compliance to the 2011 Rules. The report found that only 3 out of 51 brands, have taken efforts to fulfil their responsibility under the Rules.
The various criteria of rating included take-back mechanism, restriction in use of hazardous substance compliance, adequacy of collection points, sufficiency and accessibility of information regarding e-waste, etc. The firms were put in four categories viz red, yellow, blue and green. Red rating signifies no e-waste management while green implies good e-waste management.
“Many of these brands are the same that earnestly follow e-waste rules in other countries. Why they are not doing so in India is a matter of concern,” said Satish Sinha, Associate Director of Toxics link.
The study was done between June and September this year and is in continuation to ‘Time to Reboot’ released in 2014. The study claims to have found hardly any improvements in the performance of the producers in relation to the previous year. It is a matter of serious concern to see that collection points of 32 brands were non functional — leaving little choice for even such consumers who want to safely dispose off their e-waste, the study notes.
The study strongly recommends maintenance of a national registry of the producers of electronic and electrical goods, which will help in minimising the free riders.
E-waste contains toxic materials such as mercury, lead, cadmium, and brominated flame retardants are known to affect the human nervous system, kidneys, and lungs.