As a first step, the Government of India has classified e Waste in category of hazardous waste and has made it mandatory to give all e Waste to authorized e Waste recyclers. The government is also framing laws specifically for e Waste where as the producers will be responsible to get collect e Waste and pay recyclers for recycling.
Meanwhile lots of responsible corporate have developed their own best practices on lines similar to other companies in developed countries.
India Best Practices
As a part of corporate responsibility, corporate should ensure that e Waste is disposed of properly by adopting the following best practices.
- Institute Accountability, Transparency and spread awareness within organization about e Waste
- Instead of selling e Waste as a normal scrap, companies should appreciate that there is a huge environmental cost attached and should support the cause of recycling.
- Recognize that if the e Waste is sold, the purchaser may not destroy the data embedded therein and may not recycle the e Waste properly. Thus instead of looking at short term gains, responsible Corporates need to recognize the long term repercussions in terms of potential financial liabilities and reputational risk that irresponsible disposal by any Party or individual in the downstream disposal-chain can have on the Corporate..
- Tie up with a responsible recycling partner after proper audits to establish that his processes and facilities will assure “last-mile” responsible and safe handling and disposal of the toxins and heavy metals therein. Ideally Corporates should try and partner with recyclers who can refurbish some of the used electronics for donation, as part of their CSR Agenda, to persons or charitable institutions who cannot afford new electronics.
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