Overview of Hazardous Waste Import

Many industries, whether be it small-scale or more significant industries, when they are not able to discard their waste correctly, simply dump the industrial waste which contains many chemical toxins in landfills or water bodies, hence adding to the mountains of hazardous waste already present. The Hazardous Wastes (Management, Handling and Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2008 refer to hazardous waste as any waste due to its physical, chemical, reactive, toxic, flammable, explosive or corrosive properties that cause danger or has a possibility of causing harm to human health and environment either by reacting with other material or by themselves. These include: -

• Waste included under Schedule I, Column (3)
• Waste consisting of components included under Schedule II, in case of their concentration is equal to beyond the limit prescribed in the particular schedule
• Wastes are included in Part A and Part B of the Schedule concerning to the import and export of waste in accordance with Rule 12, 13 and 14.

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change is the government authority that regulates the cross-border movement of hazardous and other waste as mandated by the stipulations mentioned under Hazardous Waste (Management) Rules. Some of the mandates that an applicant has to follow for Hazardous Waste Import: -

1. Reuse
2. Recovery, utilisation
3. Minimization
4. Prevention
5. Safe Disposal
6. Recycling

Eligibility for Starting a Hazardous Waste Import Business

The authorisation for import is grated by authorities within sixty days if the following conditions:-

1. Proper management and disposal of waste generated
2. If the waste is included in Part A of Schedule III, prior consent from exporting countries is required
3. The sustainable facilities
4. Authorization and Consent Certificates from State Pollution Control Board.

Apart from these, the other conditions that Importers have to keep in mind before planning transboundary movement of hazardous waste: -

1. The actual user shall take prior well-informed consent of the exporting country regarding Part A of Schedule III waste,
2. It shall comply with the rules specified in Part A and Part B of Schedule III
3. The acknowledgement in this respect of the Import of hazardous waste from the respective Pollution Control Board shall be submitted to the MoEFCC. It shall be submitted along with the application.
4. They shall apply Form 5 attached with all the mandated documents.

Documents required for Hazardous Waste Import Authorisation

• Consent to establish granted by the concerned State Pollution Control Board the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 (21 of 1981) and under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974;
• Consent to operate was granted by the concerned State Pollution Control Board under the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 (21 of 1981) and under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974
• Certificate of incorporation (CIN) in case of company/LLP
• Memorandum Of Association
• Article of Association
• Board resolution for appointing an authorised person
• Aadhar card of the authorised person
• PAN copy of the authorised person
• GST certificate of organisation
• Layout Plans
• Factory license/Trade license
• Rent/proof of ownership

Procedure for acquiring Hazardous Waste Import Authorisation

The procedure for acquiring Hazardous Waste Import Authorization is regulated by the Hazardous Wastes (Management, Handling and Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2008. The process includes

Hazardous Waste in India

India produces approximately 51.1 MMT of waste annually, with around 7.46 MMT of hazardous waste generated from 43,936 industries [10]. Approximately 3.41 MMT (46%) is landfilled, 0.69 MMT (9%) is incinerated, and 3.35 MMT (45%) is recycled. Gujarat is the highest producer, with some 7751 hazardous waste generating facilities contributing to 28.76% of waste generation in the country. Around 10–15% of industrial waste is hazardous. Quantities of solid hazardous waste are rising at around 2–5% annually.

Rules and Regulations Applicable on Importers of Hazardous Waste

• Hazardous wastes from any country may not be imported into India for disposal. Only recycling, recovery, reuse, and usage of hazardous material from any country will be permitted. Co-processing is a part of it.
• The import of Hazardous waste in Part A and B of Schedule III may be permitted to actual users with Part A needing prior permission from exporting nation while both part A and B needing authorization from Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
• Hazardous Waste specified in Schedule IV are not permitted to be imported.
• Any other import hazardous waste which is not mentioned under in Schedule III but have toxicity of waste mentioned Part C of Schedule III shall have authorization from Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.

How can Enterclimate assist you?