Answer

Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is a policy approach assigning producers the responsibility for the environmental impacts of their products throughout their lifecycle, especially during post-consumer waste management. India’s E-Waste (Management) Rules, 2022 institutionalize EPR with targets, penalties, and the EPR floor price mechanism to tackle the escalating e-waste crisis.

Environmental Challenges and EPR Floor Price Mechanism

• Unsafe E-waste Disposal Practices: The floor price discourages open burning and acid treatment used in the informal sector by offering economic viability to formal recyclers.
  Example: In Seelampur, Delhi, unsafe dismantling without PPE releases lead, cadmium, and dioxins, threatening air and water.
• Pollution Control: EPR ensures regulated handling and reduces toxic emissions through authorized facilities.
  Example: Formal units in Chennai’s Perungudi e-waste cluster use mechanized separation, reducing soil and groundwater pollution.
• Material Recovery and Circular Economy: Stable prices incentivize recovery of rare metals, reducing extraction stress on natural resources.
  Example: Recovery of gold and palladium from circuit boards in CPCB-registered facilities supports India’s resource efficiency strategy.

Economic Challenges and EPR Floor Price Mechanism

• Economic Viability of Formal Recycling: The floor price assures recyclers of fair returns, sustaining modern infrastructure.
• Reduces Informal Sector Dominance: Level playing field deters undercutting by unsafe informal practices.
  Example: Over 90% of the total e–waste generated in the country is processed by the informal waste management sector; floor pricing helps shift waste flows to formal recyclers.
• Recovers National Wealth: Material recovery under EPR recaptures metal and tax value lost to untracked informal trade.

Social Challenges and EPR Floor Price Mechanism

• Health Protection for Workers: By reducing informal processing, it protects vulnerable communities from hazardous exposure.
  Example: Informal e-waste handling causes a $20 billion annual social loss, with women and children’s average lifespan falling below 27 years due to toxic exposure.
• Gender and Child Safety: Reduces child labor and women’s health risk by curbing informal dismantling operations.
• Equitable Access to Clean Environment: Promotes environmental justice by relocating harmful processes out of slums.
  

Barriers to Implementation of EPR Floor Price Mechanism

• Informal Sector Entrenchment: Deep-rooted informal networks resist integration into formal channels.
• Lack of Functional Metering and Tracking: Weak monitoring hampers enforcement and measurement of compliance.
  Example: Weak monitoring systems and unreliable data from State Pollution Control Boards hinder the enforcement of EPR compliance. 
• Low Consumer Awareness: Poor awareness leads to disposal via household or kabadiwalas.
• Financial Strain on Small Producers: Compliance and floor pricing may burden smaller manufacturers.
• Producer Pushback on Pricing: Some producers argue that floor pricing increases product costs, impacting market competitiveness.

Innovative Measures for Better Implementation

• Integrate Informal Sector: Upskill and register informal recyclers via PRO-led cooperatives.
  Example: Karo Sambhav initiative collaborates with local kabadiwalas for safe e-waste collection and compliance.
• Blockchain-based EPR Tracking: Introduce tamper-proof digital tokens to trace and verify waste flow.
  Example: MoHUA’s pilot blockchain registry for plastic waste tracking could be replicated for e-waste EPR compliance.
• Dynamic Floor Pricing Model: Adjust floor price based on market trends in metal recovery and recycler costs.
  Example: CPCB can revise rates quarterly like the MSP mechanism used in agriculture.
• School and Urban Campaigns: Embed e-waste literacy in school curriculum and urban Swachhata campaigns.
  Example: Swachh Bharat e-waste modules in schools improve early awareness and safe disposal habits.
• One-Nation EPR Portal: Centralize all producer, recycler, and dismantler data for seamless real-time oversight.
  Example: The national EPR portal (2023) should integrate SPCB dashboards for transparent compliance tracking.

India’s e-waste governance, guided by EPR floor pricing, is a vital step toward sustainability. By aligning economic incentives with environmental protection and social welfare, it can formalize waste flows, recover valuable resources, and ensure equitable outcomes provided its structural and behavioural hurdles are addressed with innovation and inclusivity.