A Study on Extended Producer Responsibility A Special Reference on END of Life Electrical and Electronic Equipments

Abstract

The production of Electrical and Electronic Equipment (EEE) is one of the fastest growing global manufacturing activities and India is one of the top five countries in the world which produce electrical and electronic waste. This development has increased the Waste Electric and Electronic Equipment (WEEE). The electronic wastes are processed and managed by formal and informal dealers. Nearly 10 percent of the e-waste is handled by authorized dealers and 90 percent of e-waste is handled by informal dealers. Electronic waste (e-waste) arising from end-of-life electrical and electronic products such as computers and mobile phones, etc. It is one of the fastest growing waste streams in today s world. E-waste contains several precious metals, rare earth metals, ferrous and non-ferrous metals, plastic, wood and glass. Unscientific practices in the processing of e-waste are associated with several environmental and health externalities. newlineExtended Producers Responsibility (EPR) is the backbone of product life-cycle management and it is also an environment protection strategy. It is designed to combine the environmental cost which is connected with products throughout their lifecycle. A new generation pollution prevention policy, which is implemented by the government in the year 2016 in India. It imposes the responsibility over the products of its complete lifecycle. The traditional responsibility of the producers and distributors would end up, once the product is sold out to the customer or to the consumer. But now, through the implementation of the EPR policy, the responsibility of the producers, brand owners and distributors has been extended beyond the point of sale. They are made responsible for the negative environmental effect of their products all over their entire life span from manufacturing to end-of-life of electrical and electrical equipment. The E-waste generated by outdated electronics and household appliances can no longer be used for the purposes for which they were designed and are either properly dispos