AHMEDABAD: Gujarat has secured the sixth position nationwide in the collection and processing of electronic waste, commonly known as e-waste, as per data disclosed during the ongoing parliamentary session .
The Union government has reported that merely about one-third of the generated e-waste is collected and processed across the country.
Gujarat MPs Shardaben Patel and Mitesh Patel, along with Parthiban S R, raised inquiries concerning the count of registered e-waste processing and recycling units in correlation to the production and management of electronic and other wastes. Additionally, the MPs sought comprehensive statistics about e-waste generation in each state and union territory.
Minister of state for environment and forests, Ashwini Kumar Choubey, responding in writing to the question, unveiled that his ministry has revised the E-Waste (Management) Rules, 2016, and established the E-Waste (Management) Rules, 2022 in November 2022. These regulations have been effective since April 1, 2023.
Throughout 2021-22, Gujarat managed to collect and process 30,569 tonnes of e-waste, facilitated by a total of 41 authorized dismantlers/recyclers of e-waste in the state.The states which collected and processed more e-waste than Gujarat are Haryana, Uttarakhand, Telangana, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
Notably, the Union government's data disclosed in the Lok Sabha that the total e-waste generated in the country in 2021-22 was 16.01 lakh metric tonnes, of which merely one third, 5.27 lakh metric tonnes, was collected and processed.