EPR LIABILITY E-WASTE

What is EPR & How to Calculate EPR Targets for E-Waste?

 

We shall describe the concept of ‘Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR)’ and explain the method to calculate the EPR targets for E-Waste generators under E-Waste Management Rules, 2022

1. E-Waste (Management) Rules 2022

 

E-Waste (Management) Rules, 2022 were introduced in India by the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change (MoEFCC) in Nov.-2022. It shall come into force on 1st April 2023.

Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) mechanism under the E-Waste (Management) Rules, 2016 & 2018 focused more on the responsibility of the E-Waste Generators (producers/manufacturers/refurbishers) to collect back the E-Waste introduced in the market by them and provided annual collection targets to them. Also, there were only two (2) categories of E-Waste and only ~21 items were listed under these two categories.

EPR regime under E-Waste (Management) Rules, 2022 provides an annual target to the waste generators for recycling of the E-Waste. Also, there are seven (7) categories of E-Waste now and ~100 items under those categories, considered as E-Waste.

2. What is EPR?

 

EPR is an environmental policy approach under which ‘Producers/E Waste Generators’ have a responsibility to manage Electrical and Electronic Equipment (EEE) after its “End of life”. This concept was invented by Prof. Thomas Lindhqvist in 1990. Prof. Lindhqvist is a Swedish academic associated with the International Institute for Industrial Environmental Economics (IIIEE) at Lund University, Sweden.

EPR, as per E-Waste rules 2022, is defined as – ‘Responsibility of any producer of electrical or electronic equipment as given in Schedule-I for meeting recycling targets as per Schedule-III and Schedule-IV, only through registered recyclers of e-waste to ensure environmentally sound management of such waste’.

EPR, as a policy instrument, has been adopted by many countries across the globe, such as European countries, Canada, US, Japan, South Korea, Australia, China, Brazil, and several countries of Latin America and Africa.

3. EPR Certificates

 

• The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) shall generate EPR certificates through the online portal in favor of a registered recycler in the format laid down by it in this regard.

 

• The quantity eligible for generation of EPR certificates shall be calculated by the following formula:

QEPR = Qp x Cf

 

QEPR = quantity eligible for generation of the certificate,

Qp = quantity of the end-product,

Cf = conversion factor (quantity of inputs required for production of one unit of output. Cf for each end-product shall be determined by CPCB)

• The validity of the EPR certificate shall be two years from the end of the financial year in which it was generated and the expired certificates shall be automatically extinguished.

• Each EPR certificate shall have a unique number containing the year of generation, code of end-product, recycler code and a unique code.

• The EPR certificates shall be in the denominations of 100, 200, 500 and 1000 kg or such other denominations as may be laid down by the CPCB.

4. Quantification of EPR Obligation for E-Waste Generators

 

4.1 Estimation of E-Waste Generation

 

• E-Waste generated for a specific EEE item is to be estimated based on the quantity (weight) of that EEE item placed in the market (sales) in the previous years and the average life of that EEE item as per the below formula;

E-Waste generation (by weight) of an EEE item in the yr. X – Y = Sales in the yr. P – Q

Where, P = X – z & Q = Y – z and z = Average life of that EEE item in years

For e.g.; if a company “ABC” sells TV and assuming that the average life of a TV is 9 years,

E-Waste generated by “ABC” in 2023-24 = Sales done by “ABC” in year 2014-15

Here, X = 2023, Y = 2024, z = 9 years

So, P = 2023 – 9 = 2014, & Q = 2024 – 9 = 2015

• E-Waste (Management) Rules, 2022 don’t specify the average life of all EEE items. However, the list of average life of a few EEE items can be seen in section 2.1.1 of ‘Implementation Guidelines of E-Waste Rules (2016)’ on CPCB website- CLICK HERE. For rest of the EEE items, the industry standard for the average life of the item would be considered.

 

4.2 EPR Target

 

• The target for EPR i.e.; recycling of E-Waste, shall be based on the E-Waste generation as calculated in 4.1 above. The year wise target would be as specified in Schedule III of E-Waste (Management) Rules, 2022.

For e.g.; in the above case of company “ABC”, if sales of TV in year 2014-15 was 1000 MT (metric tons), then E-Waste generated in year 2023-24 = 1000 MT

As per the said Schedule III, the EPR target of “ABC” for ‘TV’ in 2023-24 = 60% * 1000 = 600 MT

• Similarly, the EPR target of “ABC” for item ‘TV’ in year 2024-25 would be 70% of E-Waste generated (sales of ‘TV’) in year 2015-16. The EPR targets for future years would accordingly be calculated as per the said Schedule III

 

• The importers of used EEE shall have 100% EPR obligation for the imported material after its end of life, if not re-exported.

 

• E-Waste recycling targets shall not be applicable for waste generated from solar photovoltaic modules or cells.

 

4.3 EPR Targets for Nascent Companies

 

• EPR targets for producers, who have started sales operations recently, i.e.; number of years of sales operations is less than average life of their products, is mentioned in Schedule IV of E-Waste (Management) Rules, 2022.

• In these cases, the target for financial year 2023-24 would be 15% of the sales in year 2021-22. From year 2024-25 onwards, the EPR targets would increase to 20% of the sales made 2 years before i.e.; EPR (by weight) for year 2024-25 = 20% of sales in the year 2022-23.

• Once the number of years of sales operation equals the average life of their product, the EPR obligation shall be as per the said Schedule-III.

5. Case Study – Calculation of EPR Targets for a Multi-Product Company

 

Let’s take the case of company “ABC”. This company produces and sells four different types of products N1, N2, N3 and N4 in the Indian market.

Average life of these products is; N1 = 9 yr., N2 = 7 yr., N3 = 5 yr. and N4 = 12 yr.

Company “ABC” started its operation in Indian market in the year 2013-14.

The sales (by weight) made by “ABC” for each category is as given in the table below;

The total EPR target of co. “ABC” in 2023-24= Σ EPR target for Ni in 2023-24, i = 1 to 4

→ EPR target for N1 in yr. 2023-24 = 60% * sales of N1 in 2014-15 = 60%*1000 = 600 MT

→ EPR target for N2 in yr. 2023-24 = 60% * sales of N2 in 2016-17 = 60%*175 = 105 MT

→ EPR target for N3 in yr. 2023-24 = 60% * sales of N3 in 2018-19 = 60%*500 = 300 MT

→ Since no. of years of operation of “ABC” = 10 years in 2023-24 and average life of N4 = 12 years;

hence, EPR target for N4 in year 2023-24 shall be calculated as per section 4.3 above.

→ EPR target for N4 in 2023-24 = 15% * sales of N4 in 2021-22 = 15%*1300 = 195 MT

Therefore, total EPR target for “ABC” in year 2023-24 = 600 + 105 + 300 + 195 = 1200 MT

References

 
  • https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=6f2172e8-da11-40c6-a08b-s,Board%20(‘CPCB’)s
  • https://cpcb.nic.in/uploads/Projects/E-Waste/e-waste_rules_2022.pdf /
  • https://cpcb.nic.in/technical-guidelines-4/ /
  • https://dpcc.delhigovt.nic.in/electronicwaste
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