With the Central government making it mandatory to segregate electronic waste (e-waste), Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) is formulating a proper plan for its segregation and collection.
With the Central government making it mandatory to segregate electronic waste (e-waste), Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) is formulating a proper plan for its segregation and collection. For this, the civic body is also mulling roping in scrap dealers of the city.
Presently, the city generates more than 3,500 metric tonnes of waste daily. Though there is no estimate on the quantity of e-waste generated in the city, every household has around 8-10 kg of potential e-waste. This figure is an estimate by Society for Environment Protection (SEP).
Broken mobile chargers, batteries, electronic gadgets, obsolete monitors, television sets, and other useless electronic products comprise e-waste which people dump in the garbage or hand over to scrap dealers at a nominal price. This e-waste containing lead, silicon and other hazardous materials is either burnt or left at a garbage dumping site.
To stop these practices, the civic body is planning to join hands with scrap dealers who receive e-waste in large quantities on a daily basis. An official of the solid waste management (SWM) department of AMC, requesting anonymity said, “Apart from involving manufacturers and dealers in electronic products, it is also important to collect orphan e-waste from the city to avoid environmental hazards.” Orphan e-waste comprises electronic products which have not been dumped into garbage but which remain with scrap dealers.
However, AMC thinks it will be a major challenge to create awareness among scrap dealers. Creating awareness among manufacturers and customers is also important, added SWM official.
Dipan Shah from SEP said, “Majority of the people do not dump e-waste in the garbage, but dispose it off to scrap dealers. So there is a different channel where e-waste goes which is to the highly organised unorganised sector.” SEP has been working on e-waste in the city since three years and has launched a campaign for proper treatment of e-waste.
Any e-waste collector has to be registered under E-waste Management and Handling rules 2011. Segregating and treating e-waste is important as the electronic items are made of toxic materials which when burnt can affect the environment and prove hazardous to human life.
Presently, a consulting firm is working on how the civic body can take measures to collect e-waste. Municipal commissioner Guruprasad Mohapatra said, “We have given the work to Ernest &Young which is carrying out a survey in the city. It will determine the quantity and quality of e-waste generated and the manner in which it is dumped presently.”
Mohapatra also said that the agency will determine whether a treatment plant can be set up and on what model by December-end. Officials also claimed that the city might practice segregation of e-waste by next year.
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