The Central Pollution Control Board (cpcb) has come out with guidelines on environmentally sound management of e-waste. The guiding principles come at a time when there is a pressing need for intervention as the e-waste inventory in India is expected to shoot up in the coming years. According to industry estimates, the stockpile of e-waste will exceed 8 lakh tonnes by 2012, up from almost 1.5 lakh tonnes in 2005. E-waste comprises wastes generated from used electronic devices and appliances (cellular phones, personal stereos, refrigerators, air-conditioners) that are unfit for use and are meant for recovery, recycling or disposal. It is among the fastest growing waste streams in the world owing to an increase in market penetration in the developing economies, and the emergence of the replacement market and the high obsolescence rate in developed economies. If this waste that contains more than 1,000 substances, many of which are toxic, is not handled in a proper manner, it can lead to environment and human health hazards. Ten states generate 70 per cent of the total e-waste generated in India, starting with Maharashtra followed by Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Wese Bengal, Delhi, Kar-nataka, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Punjab. Among the top ten cities generating e-waste, Mumbai ranks first followed by Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Pune, Surat and Nagpur, according to the cpcb. None of the existing environmental laws in India deal specifically with e-waste or refer to it as hazardous in nature. "The objective is to provide guidance for the identification of various sources of e-waste and prescribe procedures for handling e-waste in an environmentally sound manner. These guidelines shall apply to all those who handle e-waste which includes the generators, collectors, transporters, dismantlers, recyclers and stakeholders of e-wastes irrespective of their scale of^ operation," the guidelines from the cpcb say. The cpcb has broadly laid two guidelines - firstly, that e-waste is considered as hazardous waste and secondly, there has to be a legislation in future to ensure Extended Producer Responsibility (epr) that would hold J the manufacturer responsible for the entire lifecycle of the product. Says Vinnie Mehta, executive director of mait (Manufacturers' Association of Information Technology), "This is a welcome move from the cpcb. In fact, mait has been closely involved with the study. While the foreign trade policy bans import of hazardous waste, it does so in a roundabout manner. This is the first time that guidelines specific to e-waste have been laid down." However, the initiative from the cpcb has drawn flak from several quarters as the guidelines are not binding on the industry - they are voluntary in nature. As the cpcb says, "The guidelines are a reference document for the management, handling and disposal of e-wastes. These are intended to provide guidance and a broad outline, however, the specific methods of treatment and disposal for specific wastes needs to be worked out according to the hazard/risk potential of the waste under question." Countering this Mehta says, "The guidelines may be purely voluntary in nature but the industry is open to a legislation also if it is fair in its implementation. There have been instances when such measures have failed because the government failed to rein in the unorganised sector. Besides, the infrastructure for managing e-waste has to be put in place before a legislation is formed. There are presently only three recyclers in the country, and they too are nothing but better dismantlers." "The good news is that about seven to eight new recyclers are panning to start operations across the country and are also looking at integrating the metal recovery process in their operations," he adds.