Shripad Yesso Naik, minister of state for new and renewable energy informed the Lok Sabha about the notified and amended E-Waste (management) rules in a written reply.
The minister shared that the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) has notified the E-Waste (Management) Rules, 2022, effective from April 1, 2023.
These rules are applicable to solar photovoltaic modules or panels or cells. According to these rules, every manufacturer and producer should do the following:
- Ensure registration on the portal
- Store the waste from the solar photovoltaic modules for the next ten years (till 2034-35)
- File annual returns before the end of the year to for the next decade (2034-2035)
- Make sure that proper waste disposal of components other than solar photo-voltaic modules also takes place (according to the guidelines)
- Ensure that the correct inventory of solar photovoltaic modules or panels or cells is present on the portal
- Comply with standard operating procedure and guidelines laid down by the Central Pollution Control Board.
Further, the recovery of the materials is mandated to the recycler of solar photovoltaic modules or cells by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
In addition, it is observed that the majority of wind turbine components are made of recyclable metals. The CPCB has issued ‘Guidelines for Disposal of Thermoset Plastic Waste including Sheet Moulding Compound /Fiber Reinforced Plastic (FRP)’ on May 25, 2016 for these metals and FRPs.
