Firms in dock for flouting e-norms

Hyderabad: Big companies manufacturing electronic products have no clue where their products are going after their usable life ends. This was revealed when the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) slapped notices on 228 companies, including major ones like Nokia, Blackberry, Karbon, Celkon Mobiles and others across the country for not ensuring that their products are recycled or disposed off properly.

Four manufacturers of electronic goods from Hyderabad have also been served notices to comply within a month’s time or face consequences under the Enviro-nmental Protection Act of 1986. ECIL, one of the biggest companies, is also on the list, apart from Analogic Ltd, Bhagyashree Industries and Smarton Mobiles.

The CPCB had amended e-waste management rules in 2016 and had added the clause of Extended Producers Responsibility (EPR) authorisation for electronic goods manufacturers to make them accountable for the waste products they generate. 

Telangana State Pollution Control Board officials also confirmed that ECIL and BEL were two major companies defaulting on chalking out an EPR. 

“For exercising the extended responsibility of ensuring that their products have an environmentally sustainable end of life disposal, the companies must link up with collection centres, dismantling units and recycling units authorised by TSPCB,” said an official from TSPCB. 

However, ECIL has denied the charges. “We have our own e-waste segregation and disposal method. If any notice has been issued it may be due to formalities,” said Mr G. Ramesh.

The notice has been served to manufacturers of electronic products. Major cell phone manufacturing units have also come under radar. The CPCB  stated that if the manufacturers fail to spell out how their products ‘die’ then they would face proceedings under the Environment Protection Act and NGT Act which can result in up to seven years imprisonment and a fine of Rs 1 lakh.

“EPR is a quantity based mechanism where the quantity of electronic goods produced must be equal to what the dismantling and recycling units collect. But there is still a major gap in these two,” says Major Shiva Kiran, the president of Sukuki Exnora, a  waste management firm.

He adds that Germany’s green dot campaign in which companies and the government have extensively set up collection centres is a good model, as it brings waste disposal conveniently to the people.