A report from Toxics Link found most OEMs “pay least or no attention” to e-waste management.
Daily Pioneer reported on the report, Time to Reboot-II, from the environmental NGO (non-governmental organisation), which found that “many leading electronic and electrical brands continue to shirk their responsibility under e-waste rules” in India. It added that producers “pay least or no attention to e-waste management”, and rates 51 electronics producers “on their actions and initiatives”.
Toxics Link’s report established that seven producers were in a ‘Red’ category, as they were “showing minimal or no effort” towards managing e-waste, while seven brands “failed to score”, meaning they had shown “serious non-compliance” to national rules. In fact, only three of the 51 companies “have taken efforts to fulfil their responsibilities”, which include take-back mechanisms, restrictions around hazardous substances, collection points, and availability of information.
The study took place between June and September 2015, following the first Time to Reboot report in 2014, and claims that it has “found hardly any improvements in the performance of the producers in relation to the previous year”. Toxics Link added that “it is a matter of serious concern to see that collection points of 32 brands were non-functional – leaving little choice for even such consumers who want to safely dispose of their e-waste”.
Recommendations were “strongly” urged including “maintenance of a national registry of the producers of electronic and electrical goods”, which the NGO hopes “will help in minimising the free riders”, and Associate Director Satish Sinha added that “many of these brands are the same that earnestly follow e-waste rules in other countries. Why they are not doing so in India is a matter of concern”.