UGC NET Questions (Paper – 1)

Statements A, B and C are correct: A notes the resource recovery potential, B highlights health risks from informal recycling and C explains the EPR approach. Statement D is incorrect because e-waste contains hazardous components that can contaminate air, soil and water, affecting health and environment. Option C, which includes B, C and D, wrongly accepts D and leaves out A, so it cannot be the correct answer. The correct combination must therefore be A, B and C only.

Option A:
Option A is correct because it combines all three true statements and excludes D. It recognises both the opportunity for material recovery and the risks of improper handling, while pointing to policy instruments such as EPR. This aligns well with the unit’s treatment of e-waste.

Option B:
Option B is incorrect as it omits C, thereby ignoring the important regulatory concept of Extended Producer Responsibility in e-waste management. Without C, the description is incomplete.

Option C:
Option C is incorrect because it includes D as a correct statement, which contradicts scientific evidence on the hazards of e-waste. The presence of this false claim makes the combination unacceptable.

Option D:
Option D is incorrect since it pairs A and C with D and leaves out B. It again treats D as correct and fails to acknowledge the serious health risks associated with informal recycling mentioned in B.

Statements A, B and D are correct because they describe the nature of e-waste, risks of informal recycling and goals of proper e-waste management. E-waste is a hazardous waste stream due to heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants in discarded electronics. Informal recycling with open burning or acid leaching exposes workers and the environment to toxics. EPR and related policies aim to promote organised collection, safe recycling and sound disposal. Statement C is incorrect because EPR places responsibility primarily on producers, often shared with other actors, not only on consumers.

Option A:
Option A is incorrect because it omits statement D, which is also true. While A and B correctly describe what e-waste is and why informal recycling is risky, leaving out D ignores the role of policy frameworks in promoting safe collection and recycling. Therefore, this option lists only part of the full set of correct statements.

Option B:
Option B is correct because it includes exactly those statements that accurately represent e-waste management: the hazardous nature of e-waste, the dangers of informal recycling and the importance of organised systems and policies. It also excludes statement C, which wrongly assigns responsibility only to consumers. Hence this option reflects the complete and accurate combination.

Option C:
Option C is incorrect because it treats B and C as the only correct statements. Although B is true, C misinterprets EPR by ignoring producer responsibility and the shared but differentiated roles of other stakeholders. The exclusion of A and D further weakens this option.

Option D:
Option D is incorrect as it includes all four statements and thereby accepts C as correct. Since C incorrectly defines EPR, any combination that retains it cannot represent the correct set of statements. This option also fails to distinguish between accurate and inaccurate descriptions of responsibility.