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On June 10, 2021, Bangladesh's Department of Environment (DOE) published the Hazardous Waste (e-waste) Management Rules (hereinafter referred to as the Rules)[1], 2021 under the Bangladesh Environment Conservation Act, 1995. It took effect immediately.
The Rules will help the DOE to bring in all the producers of electrical and electronic waste manufacturers nationally under an adequate management system. It will compel at least large e-waste producers to systematically store and recycle their wastes. Thus, new entrepreneurs may be encouraged to enter into the e-waste recycling business and advance the recycling, reuse and reduction of e-waste.
The Rules contains 25 clauses and 3 schedules. It covers the products listed in the Schedule (household appliances, monitoring and control equipment, medical equipment, automatic machines, IT and communication equipment) and specifies the responsibilities of manufacturers/assemblers, importers/traders, recycling centers, consumers, dismantlers, repairers, and recyclers of electrical and electronic products. It also sets requirements for limited use of hazardous substances in the production of electrical and electronic products and electronic waste disposal.
The main provisions of the Rules[2] are as follows.:
•Registration for e-waste management
Every e-waste manufacturer, assembler, import center, recycler, transporter, repairer, dismantler, importer, trader or shopkeeper, auctioneer and exporter must apply to the DOE for registration. Registered manufacturers, dismantlers and recyclers, etc. shall obtain environmental clearance in accordance with the Bangladesh Environmental Protection Rules, 1997.
•Limited use of hazardous substances
The Rules also sets provisions to limit the use of 10 substances covered by the EU RoHS Directive. It requires that the amount of hazardous substances in the manufacturing of products be reduced within 5 years from the date of implementation.
Number | Substances | Standard(w/w) |
1 | cadmium (Cd) | 0.01% |
2 | lead (Pb) | 0.1% |
3 | mercury (Hg) | 0.1% |
4 | hexavalent chromium (Cr VI) | 0.1% |
5 | polybrominated biphenyls (PBB) | 0.1% |
6 | polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE) | 0.1% |
7 | bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) | 0.1% |
8 | butyl benzyl phthalate (BBP) | 0.1% |
9 | dibutyl phthalate (DBP) | 0.1% |
10 | diisobutyl phthalate (DIBP) | 0.1% |
•Collection Targets of the e-waste
Manufacturers, assemblers, large importers, etc. should meet the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) collection targets specified in the schedule (10% in the first year of the implementation, 20% in the second year, 30% in the third year, 40% in the fourth year, and 50% in the fifth year and thereafter).
•E-waste storage method
E-waste shall be stored in an environmentally sound manner, with adequate fire suppression systems. Measures should be taken to prevent the mixing of e-waste and soil, air or water. The proposed time span for storing e-waste is 180 days and the DOE may extend the deadline by up to 90 days in special cases.
•Data preservation and annual report submission
Manufacturers, traders, repairers, recyclers, dismantlers, etc. of the subject products are required to preserve e-waste information and submit annual reports to the DOE. E-waste shall be transported in an environmentally friendly manner and exported to foreign countries with permission from the DOE.
•Penalty
For any violation of the provisions of the Rules, an imprisonment up to two years or a fine up to two hundred thousand taka, or both, will be imposed,in accordance with section 15 (1) of the Bangladesh Environment Conservation Act, 1995, (Amended- 2010). Repeat violators will face an imprisonment for a term ranging from two to ten years or a fine ranging from Taka 200,000 to Taka 1,000,000 or both.
