In order to strengthen the implementation of environmentally sound management of hazardous waste in India, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has amended the Hazardous and Other Wastes (Management & Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2016 vide notification G.S.R. G.S.R. XX (E), dated March 1, 2019.
The amendment has been done keeping into consideration the “Ease of Doing Business” and boosting the “Make in India” initiative by simplifying the procedures under the rules, while at the same time upholding the principles of sustainable development and ensuring minimal impact on the environment.
Some of the salient features of the Hazardous and Other Wastes Amendment Rules, 2019 are as follows:
- Solid plastic waste has been prohibited from import into the country including in Special Economic Zones (SEZ) and by Export Oriented Units (EOU).
- Exporters of silk waste have now been given exemption from requiring permission from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
- Electrical and electronic assemblies and components manufactured in and exported from India, if found defective can now be imported back into the country, within a year of export, without obtaining permission from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
“ISRI is disappointed in India’s shift in policy to plastic scrap imports,” says Adina Renee Adler, assistant vice president of international affairs for the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI). “In the first 11 months of 2018, the U.S. exported more than 120 million kilograms worth more than $46 million in plastic scrap. This highly valuable commodity is needed as feedstock in the manufacturing process. Eliminating its availability is a detriment to the global environment as it will force manufacturers in India to rely more on virgin material.”
India’s Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has clarified that importers in the country’s Special Economic Zones and Export Oriented Units will be exempted from its scrap plastic import ban until August 31, according to Recycling International and EUWID. This transition period is expected to allow any shipments in transit to be processed.
Published in the April 2019 Edition