The Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board will work on the finer elements of the e-waste policy and translate it into effective implementation in the next few months through respective departments, said P.W.C. Davidar, Principal Secretary, IT Department.
Addressing a seminar on ‘Environmental sustainability focus: e-waste management' organised by the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII), he said the State was still in the “almost beginning” stage in e-waste management.
The State's e-waste policy has a “string of areas” in concise form listing out the objectives as per Supreme Court orders on “polluters pay” principle through the concept of extended producer responsibility.
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He appealed to the industries to set examples by coming forward to buy back the electronic products as the consumers now have nowhere to dump a wide range of used electronic goods. There are suggestions that the cost of disposal could also be added to the sale price or e-waste management could be outsourced which was a business in itself. Industries should also adapt international standards in reduction of hazardous substances (in production), Mr. Davidar said.
Santosh Babu, managing director, Electronics Corporation of Tamil Nadu (Elcot), said that 75 per cent of e-waste was sitting as waste at homes and godowns and only 25 per cent was routed to the market. Of that, 90 per cent was handled by unauthorised recyclers.
Even the government departments have lakh of computers waiting to be auctioned. Enforcement was still a problem, he said emphasising that an Act could help in proper disposal of e-waste. Companies could have logistical hurdles in buying back electronic goods but it was time to start working on it, he said.
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Anand Sundaresan, chairman, CII Chennai Zone, said e-waste was the fastest growing waste.
While the production of electronic goods was keeping pace with demand, the disposal in an environmental friendly manner was yet to gather momentum. Stressing on enforcing extended producer responsibility, he said the government agencies have a huge role to play in e-waste management.