Hazardous Wastes Management  

The Central Government has notified the Hazardous and Other Wastes (Management and Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2016, in supersession of the Hazardous Wastes (Management, Handling and Tran boundary Movement) Rules, 2008, except as respects things done or omitted to be done before such supersession.

Responsibilities of the occupier for management of hazardous and other wastes 

1.   For the management of hazardous and other wastes, an occupier shall follow the steps, namely prevention, minimization, reuse, recycling, recovery, utilisation including co-processing and safe disposal.

2.  The occupier shall be responsible for safe and environmentally sound management of hazardous and other wastes.

3.     The hazardous and other wastes generated in the establishment of an occupier shall be sent or sold to an authorised actual user or shall be disposed of in an authorised disposal facility.

4.    The hazardous and other wastes shall be transported from an occupier’s establishment to an authorised actual user or to an authorised disposal facility in accordance with the provisions of these rules.

5.    The occupier who intends to get its hazardous and other wastes treated and disposed of by the operator of a treatment, storage and disposal facility shall give to the operator of that facility, such specific information as may be needed for safe storage and disposal.

6.       The occupier shall take all the steps while managing hazardous and other wastes to:-

      a) contain contaminants and prevent accidents and limit their consequences on human beings and the environment; and

     (b) provide persons working in the site with appropriate training, equipment and the     information necessary to ensure their safety. 

 Responsibilities of State Government for environmentally sound management of      hazardous and other wastes   

1.    Department of Industry in the State or any other government agency authorised in this regard by the State Government, shall ensure earmarking or allocation of industrial space or shed for recycling, pre-processing and other utilisation of hazardous or other waste in the existing and upcoming industrial park, estate and industrial clusters.

2.   Department of Labour in the State or any other government agency authorised in this regard by the State Government shall:-

(a) ensure recognition and registration of workers involved in recycling, reprocessing and other utilizaton activities     

(b)    assist formation of groups of such workers to facilitate setting up such facilities

(c) undertake industrial skill development activities for the workers involved in recycling, re      processing and other utilisation

(d)  undertake annual monitoring and to ensure safety and health of workers involved in            recycling, pre-processing and other utilisation.

3.  Every State Government may prepare integrated plan for effective implementation of these provisions and to submit annual report to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, in the Central Government.

  Authorisation for managing hazardous and other wastes

1.  Every occupier of the facility who is engaged in handling, generation, collection, storage, packaging, transportation, use, treatment, processing, recycling, recovery, pre-processing, co-processing, utilisation, offering for sale, transfer or disposal of the hazardous and other wastes shall be required to make an application in Form 1 to the State Pollution Control Board and obtain an authorisation from the State Pollution Control Board within a period of sixty days from the date of publication of these rules. Such application for authorisation shall be accompanied with a copy each of the following documents:-

(a) Consent to establish granted by the State Pollution Control Board under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 (25 of 1974) and the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 (21 of 1981)

(b)  Consent to operate granted by the State Pollution Control Board under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 (25 of 1974) and/or Air (Prevention and  Control of Pollution) Act, 1981, (21 of 1981)

(c)   In case of renewal of authorisation, a self-certified compliance report in respect of effluent, emission standards and the conditions specified in the authorisation for hazardous and other wastes

(d)    an application for renewal of authorisation may be made three months before the expiry of such authorisation

(e)   any person authorised under the provisions of the Hazardous Waste (Management, Handling and Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2008, prior to the date of commencement of these rules, shall not be required to make an application for authorisation till the period of expiry of such authorisation.

(f) any person engaged in recycling or reprocessing of the hazardous waste specified in Schedule IV and having registration under the provisions of the Hazardous Waste (Management, Handling and Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2008, shall not be required to make an application for authorisation till the period of expiry of such registration.

2.   Every occupier authorised under these rules, shall maintain a record of hazardous and other wastes managed by him in Form 3 and prepare and submit to the State Pollution Control Board, an annual return containing the details specified in Form 4 on or before the 30th day of June following the financial year to which that return relates.

3.     The authorised actual user of hazardous and other wastes shall maintain records of hazardous and other wastes purchased in a passbook issued by the State Pollution Control Board along with the authorisation.

4.      The occupiers of facilities may store the hazardous and other wastes for a period not exceeding ninety days and shall maintain a record of sale, transfer, storage, recycling, recovery, pre-processing, co-processing and utilisation of such wastes and make these records available for inspection provided that the State Pollution Control Board may extend the said period of ninety days in following cases:-

(a)  small generators (up to ten tonnes per annum) up to one hundred and eighty days of their annual capacity

(b) actual users and disposal facility operators up to one hundred and eighty days of their annual capacity

(c) occupiers who do not have access to any treatment, storage, disposal facility in the concerned State; or

(d) the waste which needs to be specifically stored for development of a process for its recycling, recovery, pre-processing, co-processing or utilisation

(e)  in any other case, on justifiable grounds up to one hundred and eighty days.

Import and export of hazardous and other wastes 

1.   Actual users intending to import or transit for transboundary movement of hazardous and other wastes specified in Part A and Part B of Schedule III shall apply in Form 5 along with the documents listed therein, to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change for the proposed import together with the prior informed consent of the exporting country in respect of Part A of Schedule III waste, and shall send a copy of the application, simultaneously, to the concerned State Pollution Control Board for information and the acknowledgement in this respect from the concerned State Pollution Control Board shall be submitted to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change along with the application. For the import of other wastes listed in Part D of Schedule III, the importer shall not require the permission of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. For Part B of Schedule III, in case of import of any used electrical and electronic assemblies or spares or part or component or consumables as listed under Schedule I of the E-Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2011, as amended from time to time, the importer need to obtain extended producer responsibility-authorisation as producer under the said E-Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2011.

2.     The importer of the hazardous and other wastes shall maintain records of the hazardous and other waste imported by him in Form 3 and shall file an annual return in Form 4 to the State Pollution Control Board on or before the 30th day of June following the financial year to which that return relates.

3.    Any occupier intending to export waste specified in Part A of Schedule III, Part B of Schedule III and Schedule VI, shall make an application in Form 5 along with insurance cover to the MOEF&CC for the proposed transboundary movement of the hazardous and other wastes together with the prior informed consent in writing from the importing country in respect of wastes specified in Part A of Schedule III and Schedule VI.

Annual Inventory of Hazardous Waste Management by Occupiers for the  Year  2016-17