The regulations were established on April 2, 2016 to ensure resource recovery and disposal of hazardous waste in an environmentally sound manner.
The Indian government has amended The Hazardous and Other Wastes (Management & Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2016
The regulations were established on April 2, 2016 to ensure resource recovery and disposal of hazardous waste in an environmentally sound manner.
For the first time, the rules included the provision to distinguish between hazardous waste and other wastes. The other wastes that comprise waste tyre, paper waste, metal scrap, and used electronic items were recognized as a resource for recycling and reuse.
Whilst the changes clarify the position on end of life tyre imports, the story for plastics is very different. The Indian government says it will ban scrap plastic imports, a move that threatens to further disrupt the recycling sector by closing a growing market for waste plastics.
The recent order appears similar to regulations implemented by the Chinese government. China’s import prohibitions went into effect at the start of 2018.
The new Indian regulations are being enacted “in order to strengthen the implementation of environmentally sound management of hazardous waste in the country,” a release from the India environment ministry states.
This must raise a red flag for Western recyclers who use India to dispose of waste rather than recycling it domestically.
