INDIA DRAFT PAPER ON E-WASTE

--is almost here


Draft Paper on E-waste Mgmt to be Out Soon


The Manufacturers' Association for Information Technology (MAIT), in association with Greenpeace and other industry partners,, will shortly come out with a draft green policy asking the government to allow only RoHS-compliant products for safer recycling into India.

RoHS (Restriction on Hazardous Substances) is a European Union standard and restricts the use of specific hazardous materials..


Talking to CXOtoday, Ramapati Kumar, consultant at Greenpeace, the global environmental activist group said, "The industry has been working on the draft over the last 8-9 months and it should be rolled out shortly. We are hoping the government will enforce the legislation at the earliest."


Earlier last year IT products manufacturers had proposed inclusion of a legislation exclusively for e-waste management in the existing solid waste management policy of the Ministry of Environment and Forest. Reports indicate that India generated about 3.8 lakh tonnes of e-waste in 2008 and is going to touch 4.7 lakh tonnes by 2011, therefore there is a great need for an inclusive eco-friendly recycling process.


Presently, only 73% of the branded companies bring in clean products into India while the rest come from unofficial channels into India. The Government of India needs to pass a legislation to stop all unbranded products which are non-ROHS compliant products from coming in.


Even though most countries have passed such a legislation, still a number of companies are pushing non-RoHS products into India because no legislation exists in India, said Kumar.



http://www.cxotoday.com/India/News/Draft_Paper_on_E-waste_Mgmt_to_be_Out_Soon/551-98828-912.html