EPR Compliance is now a popular term among businesses that are involved in some kind of waste generation. The waste can be e-waste, plastic waste, or any other kind of waste. This all started when the government adopted the ‘polluter pays’ principle. Since then the Central Pollution Control Board puts the burden of dealing with the management of waste on the producers that generate such waste. This is to save the environment for a better future. The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change releases waste management rules and regulations from time to time that businesses have to strictly follow otherwise penalties are levied on them. In this article, we will be talking about EPR Compliances for E-Waste which have to be followed by those businesses that are responsible for generating e-waste.
What is E-Waste?
Rule 3(l) of E-Waste Management Rules, 2022 defines E-Waste:-
“E-Waste means electrical and electronic equipment, including solar photo-voltaic modules or panels or cells, whole or in part discarded as waste, as well as rejected from manufacturing, refurbishment and repair processes.”
When an electrical or electronic product is discarded because of non-working or fault in any part of that product, it usually goes for refurbishment or repair but even if it is rejected from there then it is called e-waste. The latest amendment to the rules also included solar photo-voltaic modules, panels, and cells in this definition that were not covered before due to their connection with solar energy. There may be confusion in your mind that electrical and electronic denotes the same thing then why they are written separately here, I would like to clarify that electronic devices are those devices that are involved in the transportation and controlling of electrical energy while on the other hand electrical devices transform electrical energy into some other form of energy that we consume. For example, An electrical Bulb converts electrical energy into light energy that we use in our daily life.