E-Waste Recycling facility: Establishment and Management
Introduction
One of the world’s fastest rising waste sources is electrical and electronic waste (e-waste). According to the UN Global E-waste Monitor 2020, the latest study also predicts that global e-waste (discarded goods with a battery or electrical plug) will hit 74 Mt by 2030, according to a recent estimate of a record 53.6 million metric tonnes (Mt) of electronic waste produced worldwide in 2019, up 21 percent in just five years, according to the UN Global E-waste Monitor 2020. Most of the country’s e-waste is currently recycled in the informal sector with limited capacity and inadequate processing technologies that contribute significantly to the pollution load and environmental degradation. Some of the recyclers of e-waste are engaged in e-waste dismantling for sale. In India, there is a scarcity of suitable e-waste recycling facilities for end-to-end recycling.
E-waste is produced from electrical and electronic devices used, such as computers, mobile phones, personal stereos, including large household appliances such as refrigerators, air conditioners, etc., which are not suitable for their intended original use and are intended for recovery, recycling or disposal. E-wastes contain over 1000 different chemicals, many of which, if not treated in an environmentally responsible manner, are harmful and potentially dangerous to the environment and human health.
An significant consideration for enhanced e-waste generation is the high rate of product obsolescence. These wastes make their way to scrap dealers and the dismantlers’ supply chain, who are in the informal sector, in the absence of adequate recycling and disposal facilities. The dismantling procedures are carried out in unsafe ways, leading to serious environmental and health issues.
The E-waste Recycling Facility Guidelines are in line with the ‘latest environmentally safe e-waste management guidelines’ issued by the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India and Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). These should be read as per CPCB and any other guidelines / best practices / requirements etc. suggested by the Government of India from time to time.
Establishment and management of e-waste Recycling facility
1. Project Planning
The e-waste recycling facility is an industrial project of its own that needs approval from different authorities for the establishment and operation of the facility. In the structured market, such installations need to be set up. The phase starts with the preparing of the project and the preparation of the project document, which is consistent with the activities and business plans envisaged for the project. The preparation of the project, the procurement of land and the required licenses to be obtained from the agencies concerned under which jurisdiction the unit is to be set up, shall be carried out by the unit in accordance with the requirements of each State. In view of the need to protect the environment and control environmental pollution, environmental clearances have become important among the different clearances today. The detailed project report (DPR) should include the criteria for environmental compliance and the investment being made for the same. These guidelines are intended to provide and encourage the process with the information needed to check for different environmental clearances.
2. Environmental Clearance
The EIA notification of Infrastructure Projects dated September 2006, notified under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, provides for the establishment of a recycling facility for e-waste recycling. It has similar specifications to the projects protected by the Disposal Facility for Treatment Storage (TSDF). Any person who is likely to set up or take any measures to decide any form of recycling or processing of e-waste that is likely to discharge sewage or commercial waste into any stream or well or sewer or on land shall obtain the consent of the Pollution Control Board of the State concerned. Similarly, any person who is likely to set up or operate an e waste recycling plant or process e-waste in any way that is likely to cause air pollution and overdose any air pollutant Release is not allowed. Standards set by the concerned State Pollution Control Board. These emissions are subject to prior approval of the State Board. The entrepreneur must obtain the first and most important condition of consent for the establishment (CFE), which is obtained before the establishment of the industry. Environmental clearance is required if the environment falls under Schedule I of the 2006 Environmental Impact Assessment Notification (EC).
· Procedure for Obtaining Environmental Clearances (EC)
The industrial unit proposing to process e-waste is considered as any other industrial unit handling hazardous substances and liable to cause air and water pollution. The industry is required to obtain Environmental Clearance (EC) under the Environmental Clearance notification of 2006.
The Project process involves:
· Screening
· Scoping
· Public Consultation
· Project Appraisal
a. Expert Appraisal Committee
b. State Level Appraisal Committee
The Following information/documents have to be furnished for obtaining EC.
1. Project Report
2. Land/shed possession certificate
3. Location Map
4. Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Report
5. Environment Management Plan (EMP) Reports (for industries listed in Schedule I of the EIA notification)
6. Water & materials balance
7. Proposed Pollution Control measures for water, air and solid and hazardous wastes
8. Detailed Layout map
9. Consent for Establishment (CFE)
3. Regulatory Compliances
Under the provisions of Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 and Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution Act, 1981, an entrepreneur establishing or running any industry or process, and discharging effluent/ emitting pollutants into any water resources or on land/air, thus polluting the environmental water/air is required to obtain consent.
1. Consent for Establishment (CFE) (Consent to Establish)
As the term suggests, the Consent for Establishment (CFE) of an industrial unit is a requirement prior to any industry or process being created. No industrial operation without CFE is permitted to begin. The CFE is to be obtained from the State Pollution Control Board (State Board) concerned, through Section 25 of the Water (Pollution Prevention and Control) Act, 1974. As a first step, and in compliance with Rule 32 of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Rules 1975, a request for the grant of CFE should be submitted to the State Board in Form OG/XIII (ref Appendix I). Information of the place of the unit, whether in a licensed industrial estate or a private property or converted land, etc., must be given along with other documentation relating to the ownership or leased property, rented property, etc. Details of the manufacturing product, production process, raw materials used, water audit, waste produced, methods of waste management, etc. must also be given. The CFE shall be issued on the basis of the information given to fulfill the requirements of the law. If the Pollution Control Board in question is seeking some further specifications, the same should be given. The activities for the establishment of the unit can take place only after the CFE is granted.
The Following information/documents have to be furnished for obtaining Consent for Establishment (CFE):
i. Prescribed application forms I & XIII (to be downloaded from the concerned Board’s website or available free of cost from any of the office of the Board and should be submitted in triplicate along with the prescribed consent fee.)
ii. Project Report
iii. Land/shed possession certificate
iv. Location Map
v. EIA & EMP Reports (for industries listed in Schedule I of the EIA notification)
vi. Water & materials balance
vii. Proposed Pollution Control measures for water, air and solid and hazardous wastes
viii. Detailed Layout map
2. Consent for Operation (CFO)
The Consent for Operation (CFO) has to be obtained 45 days prior to (commissioning or) operation of the unit. Once the unit is established, for operating the same the entrepreneur has to apply for consent in prescribed forms i.e. Form I and Form XIII to the concerned Pollution Control Board along with the following documents:
1. Form I and Form XIII. (appendix I)
2. Audited balance sheet.
3. Environmental Statement affidavit on Rs.100 stamp paper.
4. Prescribed consent fee in the form of DD.
3. Authorization for Handling Hazardous Wastes
4. Registration as Recyclers
5. Trans boundary Movement of e-waste
4. Environmental Monitoring & Compliance
In the’ Guidelines for Environmentally Sustainable Management of E-waste’ published by the Ministry of Environment and Forests, the guidelines, best practices and specifications for the establishment and operation of e-waste recycling facilities have been detailed. The Best Available Technologies and the Global scenario are also presented by these guidelines to allow the e-waste recycler to gain an insight into the system needed.
