NT NETWORK
PANAJI
The people now need not worry about what to do with the electrical and electronic items that are damaged beyond repair as the newly-constituted Goa Waste Management Corporation (GWMC) will set up first e-waste collection centre and ensure local bodies collect the e-waste, said Domnic Fernandes, OSD of solid waste management.
Fernandes was speaking at the awareness workshop on environmental hazards of e-waste management, organised by Manufacturers’ Association for Information Technology (MAIT) in collaboration with GCCI on Wednesday.
Putting onus on the local bodies to get rid of a major urban pollutant, he said that the people are dumping e-waste and creating harm to the environment and “we just can’t wait and watch.”
The local bodies will be made responsible in collecting e-waste from government offices, and public and private establishments in the state and the project would benefit the local bodies as the companies would be paying for the e-waste collected.
It is not just the electronic and electrical waste that would be collected, but also the dangerous waste which lies around the houses like bulbs, tubes and batteries.
The baling station-cum-collection centre at Cacora in Curchorem, which was meant for non-biodegradable waste, has been converted into e-waste collection centre for which necessary permission has already been taken.
“All municipalities and panchayats will be a part of this plan after awareness programmes are rolled out on how to go about ensuring proper segregation, collection and maintaining inventory of e-waste. We will appoint the same contractor, who is presently collecting plastic waste, to collect e-waste from the local bodies and store it at Cacora and it will then be handed over to the authorised recycler,” said Fernandes.
Gautam Mehra, a consultant of MAIT, said that the newly revised e-waste management rules for the first time put the onus of reducing and recycling the e-waste on manufacturers and importers of electronic items. They made them legally responsible for making people aware of these hazardous components and inform consumers about proper disposal system so that they do not mix e-waste with domestic waste. The industry was also entrusted with the responsibility of setting up e-waste collection centres and introducing “take back” systems as extended producers responsibility (EPR).
Mehra said that as of now, state pollution control boards are trying to put in place an inventory of manufacturers and suppliers of electronic items and e-waste recycling companies in the country.
He hoped that the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) will be able to compile the data soon and upload it on its website by June. Any delay in the effort could mean manufacturers and consumers will improperly dump e-waste, contaminating the environment. He further talked about the emerging threat of e-waste from informal sector which is posing a biggest challenge for formal collection system.
“They offer better prices for used electronic goods compared to the formal sector but the dismantling methods they use are extremely harmful to the environment and human health.”
However, he urged the consumers to shift recycling of e-waste from informal to formal sector to take care of environment and public health concerns.
He further presented the data on e-waste showing only five percent of the total e-waste recycled by formal sector.
According to Manufacturers’ Association of Information Technology, India generates 18 lakh tonne of e-waste every year. However, only 4.50 lakh tonne of this e-waste is recycled representing 25 per cent of the amount of e-waste generated.