Extended producer responsibility as an instrument for electronic waste management: a critical analysis of India’s e-waste rules

Abstract

Extended producer responsibility (EPR) has been a widely used policy approach, in developed and developing countries alike, to manage the growing problem of electronic waste (e-waste). EPR assigns the responsibility of the end-of-life waste management to the producers of electric and electronic equipment. India has adopted EPR approach in its ewaste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2011, which have come into effect in May, 2012. According to these rules, the producers have been made responsible for setting up collection centres of e-waste and financing and organizing a system for environmentally sound management of e-waste. In this paper, we use implementation of these rules in the city of Ahmedabad in western India as a case study to conduct a critical analysis of the provisions of India’s new rules. Interviews of main stakeholder groups, including a sample of commercial establishments regulated under the rules, regulatory agencies enforcing the rules, informal actors involved in waste collection and handling, as well as publicly available information on the implementation constitute data for our case study. We draw broader implications of our analysis of implementation in Ahmedabad. In general, there is a need for more transparency from the producers in providing information on the mechanism for collection and recycling; more awareness must be generated on e-waste and the Rules amongst the consumers; and it is important to sort out potential issues around enforcement jurisdiction.