Authorised e-waste dismantling units soon
Authorised e-waste dismantling units could soon be coming up in Delhi with the Delhi Pollution Control Committee planning to issue licence to proper handling units.
Units, in which electronic waste such as televisions, mobiles, computers and laptop are disassembled before they go to recycling factories, form an important link in the chain in which such waste could be disposed off in an eco-friendly manner.
“The proposal was making the rounds in the last few DPCC meetings. In the last meeting, held less than a month ago, it was agreed on principle that licence should be issued to set up authorised dismantling units in Delhi as they are not a hazardous industry,” said a senior officer of the DPCC.
To date dismantling of e-waste was not allowed without proper authorisation in India under the E-waste rules, 2011. Also dismantling is not an authorised activity in Delhi as per the Delhi Master Plan.
“The Delhi Pollution Control Committee has formed a committee to look into matter. A notification is likely to be published soon. This would encourage entrepreneurs to set up proper dismantling units,” said a committee member.
Even though there is no official figure of how much e-waste Delhi produces annually, industry esti- mates suggest that the NCR region produced around 68,000 metric tonnes in 2016. The figure was projected to go up to more than 1 lakh metric tonnes in 2017.
But most of this waste is handled in a crude manner by the unorganised sector as there are no authorised dismantling or recycling units in the city. Dis-
TO DATE DISMANTLING OF EWASTE WAS NOT ALLOWED WITHOUT PROPER AUTHORISATION IN INDIA UNDER THE EWASTE RULES, 2011
mantling and extraction of metals goes on in various parts of the city such as Old Seelampur, Mayapuri, Mustafabad and Shastri Park among others.
“Many such units operate in residential colonies in Delhi and pose a threat to both human health and environment,” said Ravi Agarwal director of Toxics Link in Delhi.
There are around 29 collection centres (common facility providers of e-waste) in Delhi according to Delhi Pollution Control Committee estimates. They have been given consent to operate and can only collect, segregate and store e-waste without dismantling or recycling them.