The industrialisation has played a very important role in the development of the Country, but with increasing activities of these industries, the production of hazardous waste is inevitable. These hazardous waste disposed of without any proper treatment or management have proven to be very harmful to the environment and the human body due to their non-biodegradable property.
This has, in return, resulted in the growth of the hazardous waste management business in India, with hazardous waste import being an essential part of it. This blog will expand on the regulation that is enforced by The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change[1] for Hazardous Waste Import.
Overview of Hazardous Waste Import
The Hazardous and Other Waste (Management and Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2016 govern the import and export of Hazardous waste in India, regulated by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. In the recent circular published by the Central Pollution Control Board, the Certificate from MoEF for the import of hazardous waste is mandated necessary.
Market Overview of Hazardous Waste Management
Hazardous Waste Management is not only profitable for protecting the environment and reducing the accumulation of waste but also has proven to be very profitable in today’s market. According to a Global market analysis report, the market space for Hazardous Waste management business is valued at 14.16 Billion US Dollars in 2021, with projected progress worth 23.76 Billion Dollars by 2031. Additional to this, the Compound annual growth rate for the hazardous waste recycling business has been estimated at 5.31 per cent. Along with this, India has also witnessed consistent growth in the Waste Management business, with expected growth worth 13.62 Billion US Dollars by 2025. India reported total revenue of 6.9 billion US Dollars in 2020, with a Compound Annual Growth Rate of 1.9% between 2016 and 2020. With this much market growth, Hazardous Waste imports have become very important to the growth of the hazardous waste management market.
MoEF Guidelines for Hazardous Waste Import
As per the recent circular by the Central Pollution Control Board and the mandated laws under The Hazardous and Other Waste (Management and Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2016, the importers have to follow specific guidelines for Hazardous Waste Import. Some of these are: –
- Some of the Waste mentioned under the Part B of Schedule III is allowed by the MoEF to be imported by the users.
- The Hazardous Waste included in Schedule IV is prohibited from importation.
- Any Hazardous Waste is banned from import solely for disposal from any country.
- Any part A of Schedule III hazardous waste may also be able to be imported by an actual user with the informed consent from the Country exporting the hazardous waste and with the authorisation from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
- Hazardous waste that is imported into India should be only used only for recycling, recovery, reuse and utilisation, including co-processing.
- The hazardous waste not included in Schedule III of the rule but is hazardous in nature that is outlined in Part C of Schedule III must be authorised by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change for Hazardous Waste import.
Documents required for Hazardous Waste Import
The documents required for authorisation of Hazardous Waste import are mentioned under the guidelines published by the CPCB and MoEF. For different categories of waste, different types of Documents are needed.
Import of Lead Scrap and Battery Scrap
- Under Hazardous and other Waste Management Rules, one have to fill out Form 5
- Reason for import
- Consent Certificate under Air and Water Act
- Authorisation under the Hazardous and other Waste Management Rules
- Lead Analysis Report Copy
- Flow Chart
- Layout Plan of manufacturing unit
- Photos of running industry
- Acknowledgement copy of the application from the Pollution Control Committee/ State Pollution Control Board
- Previous permission copy that was issued by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
Import of Rubber scrap
- Under Hazardous and other Waste Management Rules, one have to fill out Form 5
- Reason for import
- List of users
- Consent Certificate under Air and Water Act
- Authorisation under the Hazardous and other Waste Management Rules
- Flow Chart
- Layout Plan of manufacturing unit
- Photos of running industry
- Acknowledgement copy of the application from the Pollution Control Committee/ State Pollution Control Board
- Previous permission copy that was issued by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
Import of used oil
- Under Hazardous and other Waste Management Rules, one have to fill out Form 5
- Reason for import
- Consent Certificate under Air and Water Act
- Authorisation under the Hazardous and other Waste Management Rules
- Composition analysis from the recognised lab of waste oil
- Flow Chart
- Layout Plan of manufacturing unit
- Photos of running industry
- Details of previous import
- Acknowledgement copy of the application from the Pollution Control Committee/ State Pollution Control Board
- Previous permission copy that was issued by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
Import of any other hazardous waste apart from mentioned above
- Under Hazardous and other Waste Management Rules, one have to fill out Form 5
- Reason for import
- Consent Certificate under Air and Water Act
- Authorisation under the Hazardous and other Waste Management Rules
- Composition analysis report from the recognised lab of waste to be imported
- Flow Chart
- Layout Plan of manufacturing unit
- Photos of running industry
- Details of previous import
- Acknowledgement copy of the application from the Pollution Control Committee/ State Pollution Control Board
- Previous permission copy that was issued by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
Process for import of hazardous materials for recycling requiring Prior Informed Consent
The procedure for the Hazardous Waste Import is mandated under The Hazardous and Other Waste (Management and Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2016, regulated by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
- For the import of Hazardous Waste, every recycler should have a valid authorisation from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) for the management of hazardous waste and apply to the Pollution Control Committee/ State Pollution Control Board at least one hundred and twenty days before importing the substance under form 1 and 3 ;
- After the application is submitted, the Pollution Control Committee/ State Pollution Control Board is required to forward the application with Suggestions and requisite conditions for secure transport, storage and handling to the MoEF and CC (Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change) within a period of thirty days of receipt of the application.
- MoEF (The Ministry of
Environment, Forest and Climate Change), after analysing that all pertinent
regulations of the Hazardous and Other Waste (Management and Transboundary
Movement) Rules, 2016 are satisfied, authorise a ‘No Objection Certificate’ for
the Hazardous Waste import and validate the copy of Form 1 matter to the
following:
- The hazardous waste imported is enclosed under Basel Convention;
- The recycler/importer needs to submit a valid Informed Consent letter along with a legitimate copy of Form 1 from the government authority of the exporting state; and
- Retains a valid certificate from Central Pollution Control Board for undertaking the Hazardous Waste import in question.
- The Central Government shall issue a copy of the ‘No Objection Certificate granted to the Central Pollution Control Board, the concerned Pollution Control Committee for Union Territory/ State Pollution Control Board and the Port and Customs authorities of that particular state to ensure amenability with the regulations of imports and safe management of the hazardous waste.
- Also, the Central Government (or the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change) shall transfer the grant of authorisation by verification in Form 1 to the exporting unit and the concerned authority of exporting Country and communicate a copy of the to the Central Pollution Control Board and Pollution Control Committee for Union Territory/ State Pollution Control Board as the case may be.
- The Custom and Port authority of the concerned state shall make sure that the consignment is transported with the Movement Document, Form 2, as well as the test report from a laboratory attributed by the concerned authority of the Country exporting the hazardous waste for examination of the hazardous materials in question.
- The concerned Customs authorities shall gather and maintain in safe custody three randomly picked out samples of the shipment for a term of five years in order to safeguard that in the instance of any disagreement as to whether the shipment obeys the guidelines made in the Movement Document Form 2 and notification.
- The recycler/Importer transporting hazardous materials import shall keep up the records of hazardous material imported as mentioned in Form 4, and the record so kept up shall be accessible to the Pollution Control Committee for Union Territory/ State Pollution Control Board for inspection as the case may be.
Conclusion
The fundamental objective of establishing guidelines related to hazardous waste management business is to regulate the hazardous waste import, transportation, storage and handling. The main focus of this regulation is to minimise the environmental and health damage that is caused by this waste. Sustainable Hazardous Waste import is of prime importance for the protection of the environment and growth of the economy in the Importing Country.
Read our Article:Hazardous Waste Management Authorization Norms: An Overview
