Battery Waste Management Rules, 2022 [UPSC Notes]

The Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MOEFCC) has come out with guidelines for the proper management of battery waste. 

Battery Waste Management Rules, 2022

As the emphasis is now being laid upon renewable energy, the use of electricity is gaining much traction. This would in turn lead to the generation of enormous battery waste. This situation demands a proactive policy to deal with the situation of surging battery waste. Keeping this in mind the government has come out with the Battery Waste Management Rules, 2022.

Battery Waste Management Rules, 2022 Features

The new battery rules will be replacing the Batteries (Management and Handling) Rules, 2001, which had become inadequate to deal with the current situation of increasing battery waste.

• The new rules encompass various types of batteries ranging from Electric Vehicle batteries, portable batteries, automotive batteries and industrial batteries.
• The new rules are premised upon the concept of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR). This rule demands that the manufacturers of the battery make provisions for the collection, disposal, and recycling of the battery. 
• The new rule also prohibits the disposal of battery waste in landfills and incineration. 
• This rule also empowers the producer to delegate its responsibility to a third party with respect to the collection and disposal of waste. 
• It also makes a provision for setting up a centralised online platform for the exchange of EPR certificates among the producers and recyclers of e-waste. 
• It has brought in the concept of a ‘minimum percentage of recovery of materials’ from waste batteries. This will enable the system to encourage the adoption of new technologies. 
• It also envisages that the manufacturing of new batteries would necessarily have certain components of the recycled battery. Thus it will reduce dependence upon the new raw material for battery manufacturing. 

Image Source: Swachh Survekshan

• Penalty in the form of the ‘Polluter pay principle’ would be levied upon the person who would not abide by the concept of EPR.
• The fund derived from environmental compensation will be used for the purpose of recycling uncollected and non-recycled waste batteries.
• The remarkable feature of the new rules is that it is based upon the concept of ‘Outcome oriented’. Here targets are measurable in terms of the collection and recycling of the waste within a compliance timeframe.
  • Two-wheeler manufacturers have to compulsorily collect 70% of their batteries sold in the market in 2022-23 and this has a seven-year compliance time frame starting 2026-27.

New Battery Waste Management Rules Concerns

It does not mandate the use of labelling for reflecting the carbon footprint of the battery. This would have made their environmental impact more transparent and reflective. 

Conclusion: The advent of new technologies to control the impact of climate change is not necessarily without challenges. Therefore, these challenges must be acknowledged in advance and measures must be taken to reduce their negative impact.

Battery Waste Management Rules, 2022:- Download PDF Here