The Bhopal Municipal Corporation has developed five e-waste collection centers as per the notification of the Union Government.

Technicians dismantle e-waste from discarded electronic devices such as computer peripherals at Earth Sense Recycle unit in Andhra Pradesh.

Even though e-Waste (Management and Handling) Rules have come into force from Tuesday, the AP Pollution Control Board is still gearing up for implementation and strict enforcement of these rules with a framework of guidelines to be followed by manufacturers of e-products.

The Union ministry of environment and forests had announced e-waste rules way back in June 2011 under the Environment Protection Act. This would be implemented in letter and spirit only after the APPCB prepares a draft explaining “how to ensure implementation and check violation” of the norms.

Junk must be deposited with authorised recyclers

The State government is all set to issue the e-waste guidelines in the next two weeks, with the Electronic Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2011, coming into effect from May 1. Highly placed sources told Deccan Herald that even though the guidelines were supposed to be introduced soon after notification of the Act, it has been delayed as the government took time for consultation with stakeholders and NGOs.

The IT and electronics industry insists that the entire collection mechanism of e-waste will need to be strengthened in order to make the new e-waste management rules effective.

The e-waste (Management & Handling) Rules, 2011, which were notified in May 2011, have come into effect from May 1, 2012 and people will now be required to dispose of their discarded electronic at designated centres.

e-waste handling rules, which came into effect from Tuesday, will not make much difference at the ground-level, as there is no monitoring mechanism or guideline in place, says Toxics Link.

Starting Tuesday, it will be illegal to dump an old TV, mobile or laptop into the garbage bin or sell any of these to the local scrap dealer.

NEW DELHI: The e-waste (Management & Handling) Rules, 2011 will come into effect from Tuesday. The rules were notified in May 2011 and aim at reduction in the use of hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment by specifying threshold for use of hazardous material including lead, mercury and cadmium.

These rules were notified in advance to give the various stakeholders adequate time to prepare themselves and also to put in place the required infrastructure.

While they are a step in the right direction, the new e-waste regulations contain no specific guidelines on many crucial issues and risk falling flat, say experts.