E-waste: A Growing Problem
The country s e-waste generation increased 43 per cent between FY18 and FY20. The pandemic-induced consumption of electronic devices is set to add to the problem in future
Photograph by Yasir Iqbal
Little has changed over the years in the narrow bylanes of Seelampur in the national capital, India s largest unorganised e-waste recycling hub, as hundreds of establishments, big and small, salvage computer peripherals, laptops, mobile phones and other electronic waste in the most unscientific way. Government regulations on e-waste management have had little impact here.
If Seelampur represents how India has decided to handle one of modernity s biggest problems - e-waste - things are hardly better in other parts of the country. India is now officially the world s third-biggest e-waste generator, producing over 3.23 million metric tonnes of e-waste per year, behind the US and China. While hardly anything ends up in a landfill, the big worry is that 95 per ce
April 11, 2021
EPR is coming â will you be ready?
THE implementation of the Governmentâs upcoming EPR (Extended Producer Responsibility) scheme is well advanced and impending legislation requires producers especially in the packaging industries to register and become or join an industry PRO (Producer Responsibility Organisation).
Knowing the why, how and industries new responsibilities is outlined below, with insight provided from www.factssa.com website.
South Africaâs waste generation continues to increase; significant volumes of waste are still being diverted to landfill, a dead-end disposal of waste rather than the desired approach of a circular economy . If we are to protect our environmentâs natural resources and develop green economies, producers of products will be required to take responsibility for their products throughout the product life cycle, from raw material extraction through product design and use, and ultimately, recovery and recyclin
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New York State is considering an extended producer responsibility (EPR) bill (S1185B) that, if passed, will require brands of consumer packaging and paper products to pay to recycle these materials. This includes plastics #1-7, metals, glass, as well as paper from packaging and items like flyers. If the bill passes, producers could sell only what state regulators deem acceptable.
The proposed legislation differs from an established model in that municipalities could continue running recycling programs rather than delegate the task to producers; and producers would reimburse the government for the work.
Sponsored by Senator Todd Kaminsky (D), (S1185B) is still in the Senate and House who are working on separate versions with plans to determine if they can agree on terms and language to meld into one bill.
The year is 2016, outside a busy supermarket in one of Nairobi’s estates. Shoppers flow in and out carrying their groceries and other shopping items with plastic carrier bags. These are the order of the day, but their pollution to the environment is devastating. A year later in 2017, the Kenyan government would enact the … [Read more…]