Samsung, LG Sue Indian Govt Over E-Waste Rules: Will Recycling Costs Soar?

South Korea's LG and Samsung have sued India's government to quash a policy which increases payouts to electronic-waste recyclers, court filings show, joining other major companies in contesting the country's environmental rules citing business impact, reported Reuters.

The lawsuits, going to be heard on April 22, will mark an escalation of a standoff between foreign companies' and the Indian government over its stance towards waste management practices, stated Reuters.

According  to Global E-Waste Monitor 2020, India ranks as the world’s third largest e-waste generator behind China and the US. However, the government says only 43% of the country’s e-waste last year was recycled and at least 80% of the sector comprises informal scrap dealers, cited Reuters.

Industry Pushes Back Hard

Samsung and LG had lobbied against a decision to fix a floor price payable to recyclers, which New Delhi says is needed to get more formal players into the sector and boost investment in e-waste recycling.

As per the Reuters report, LG’s filing in the Delhi High Court said that the pricing rules “fail to take into consideration that merely by fleecing companies and taxing them in the name of the ‘polluter pays principle’, the (government) objectives sought to be achieved cannot be achieved.”

“(If) the authorities have not been able to regulate the informal sector, then it is an enforcement failure,” the 550-page court  filing from April 16 showed, according to Reuters.

India’s new rules state that a minimum payment of Rs 22 (25 US cents) per kilogram must be made to recycle consumer electronics. Electronics companies claim that will roughly triple their costs and benefit recyclers at their expense.