Last updated April 12, 2019
India will have new rules regarding the disposal of old cell phones and other items of electronic waste from next year. The new rules, which will cover everyone involved in the manufacture, processing, purchasing and sales of every kind of electrical goods, will force all recycling and collection centers to get authorization from the GSPCS (Goa State Pollution Control Board). Successful companies will have to ensure that the goods at no time in their storage, transportation or dismantling are ever in a position to cause damage to either the environment or to the health of human beings. Once the new rules come into force next year, all dismantlers and recyclers of all forms of electronic waste will have just three months to seek a renewal of their “consent to establish” (which is granted by the Goa State Pollution Control Board under either the Water, Air or Waste Management Rules established in 1974, 1981 and 2008 respectively) to ensure they conform to the new laws.
Under the new rules, manufacturers of electronic goods will be responsible for ensuring that the goods are delivered to legitimate dismantling or recycling companies once they have reached the end of their life in what is being termed “extended producer responsibility”.
The new rules will officially become law in India on May 1st next year, while the government also intends to ensure a reduction in the amount of hazardous material used in the creation of electronic goods within the next two years.