On the lines of e-waste, the Ministry of Forest and Environment will now prepare new rules for recycling of products made from non-ferrous metals like aluminium, copper and brass. In which the producer who produced them will have the full responsibility of disposing of them.

However, they will not have any direct participation in this, but they will have to buy a certain amount of recycling certificates from registered recyclers every year based on their production capacity. For which they will have to pay money to the recyclers.

The Ministry of Forest and Environment has currently prepared a draft of new rules for the management of hazardous and other wastes. It has also sought opinion from the general public regarding this. These rules are set to be implemented from April 1, 2025.

Under the new rules, products made from these non-ferrous metals will be recycled after they are used or turn into scrap after a certain period of time. These will also be used in the manufacture of new products made from these metals.

At present, the ministry has also released a list of 18 products made from these non-ferrous metals. These include cans used for making beverages, foil used in packaging food items, windows and doors made from aluminium, toys, transformers etc.

According to the Ministry of Forest and Environment, this initiative has been taken when the demand for these non-ferrous metals including aluminium is increasing rapidly in the market. Due to which the mining of these minerals has also increased in the last few years.

For this, the search for new storages has intensified. Most of these storages are located in forest areas. If new mines are allowed, a large part of the forest areas will be affected. In its draft, the ministry has set a target of recycling ten percent of the products made from these metals in 2025-26 and 2026-27. While the target of recycling 75 percent of the products has been set by the year 2031-32.

If the manufacturer does not provide the recycling certificate every year, then permission for new production will not be granted. It is worth noting that till now, the manufacturer was responsible for collecting the waste generated from recycling of products made from these metals.