Karnataka mulls mandatory e-waste buyback to tackle disposal crisis

Bengaluru: Karnataka generates over 5 lakh tonnes of e-waste annually, posing a significant challenge for state authorities in ensuring its scientific disposal. To address this, the govt is considering a mandate requiring electronics manufacturers to buy back old and used products at a nominal price. While some companies already offer buyback options, this practice is yet to be made mandatory, despite the growing e-waste crisis.Forest, ecology, and environment minister Eshwar Khandre, has written to the additional chief secretary of the department, requesting a detailed study of the proposal's feasibility, and a report within a month."We are thinking of making it mandatory as scientific disposal of e-waste is the need of the hour considering its harmful impact on the environment and human health. Once we get the report, we will have talks with companies and come to a decision," Khandre said. This move will benefit companies, customers, and, most importantly, the environment," he added.India's e-waste market remains largely unregulated, with over 85% of e-waste being processed informally, making it difficult to quantify the total volume of waste generated nationwide. Karnataka alone produces approximately 5 lakh tonnes of e-waste each year, but only 1.5 lakh tonnes are processed scientifically, according to the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB)."E-waste is auctioned periodically through global tenders, and it is hard to track how and where the firms that bag the tenders process and dispose of this waste," said M G Yatish, a senior environmentalist with KSPCB. He added that the proposed buy-back scheme would improve traceability. "This will help us know who bought how much e-waste and how much of it was recycled and refurbished," noted Rudresh, another environmentalist from KSPCB.Karnataka has only 105 e-waste processing units, with a collective processing capacity far below the volume of e-waste being generated.Meanwhile, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) is working to regulate the e-waste market by enforcing the extended producers responsibility (EPR) regime. Under EPR, manufacturers and recyclers of electronic goods are responsible for processing, recycling, reuse, and disposal of e-waste. Companies are also required to declare their production and procurement details. "Since e-waste management falls under the EPR regime, companies will have to agree to buy back used goods. I am confident that they will," Khandre said.Bengaluru: Karnataka generates over 5 lakh tonnes of e-waste annually, posing a significant challenge for state authorities in ensuring its scientific disposal. To address this, the govt is considering a mandate requiring electronics manufacturers to buy back old and used products at a nominal price. While some companies already offer buyback options, this practice is yet to be made mandatory, despite the growing e-waste crisis.Forest, ecology, and environment minister Eshwar Khandre, has written to the additional chief secretary of the department, requesting a detailed study of the proposal's feasibility, and a report within a month."We are thinking of making it mandatory as scientific disposal of e-waste is the need of the hour considering its harmful impact on the environment and human health. Once we get the report, we will have talks with companies and come to a decision," Khandre said. This move will benefit companies, customers, and, most importantly, the environment," he added.India's e-waste market remains largely unregulated, with over 85% of e-waste being processed informally, making it difficult to quantify the total volume of waste generated nationwide. Karnataka alone produces approximately 5 lakh tonnes of e-waste each year, but only 1.5 lakh tonnes are processed scientifically, according to the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB)."E-waste is auctioned periodically through global tenders, and it is hard to track how and where the firms that bag the tenders process and dispose of this waste," said M G Yatish, a senior environmentalist with KSPCB. He added that the proposed buy-back scheme would improve traceability. "This will help us know who bought how much e-waste and how much of it was recycled and refurbished," noted Rudresh, another environmentalist from KSPCB.Karnataka has only 105 e-waste processing units, with a collective processing capacity far below the volume of e-waste being generated.Meanwhile, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) is working to regulate the e-waste market by enforcing the extended producers responsibility (EPR) regime. Under EPR, manufacturers and recyclers of electronic goods are responsible for processing, recycling, reuse, and disposal of e-waste. Companies are also required to declare their production and procurement details. "Since e-waste management falls under the EPR regime, companies will have to agree to buy back used goods. I am confident that they will," Khandre said.