E-waste centres in Bhubaneswar-Cuttack
The Orissa State Pollution Control Board (OSPCB) has authorized five collection centres in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack to collect electronic wastes and send it to registered recyclers for recovery of metals and other materials.
According to a rough estimate, the state generates about 5,000 tonne of e-waste per annum and by authorizing the collectors, waste-collection will be streamlined so as to prevent hazardous and toxic materials from polluting the environment, said senior environmental scientist Dilip Kumar Behera.
The OSPCB authorized the collection centres after nine months of the e-waste management rules came into force on May 1, 2012.
Bulk of the e-waste is generated from Bhubaneswar, which is home to maximum number of government and private offices, commercial establishments, educational and research centres. The Union ministry of environment and forests had given the producers of electrical and electronic equipment a year buffer period to set up their recycling and collection centres for scientific disposal of the junk.
The board had asked the waste generators to implement the guidelines at the earliest or face action. “We had urged the organizations to submit reports regarding use of electronic gadgets and disposal of e-waste,” Behera said.
He said the board would soon start organising workshops at different places to spread awareness about e-wastes. Most of e-wastes are now being collected by kabadiwalas (scrap collectors), who don’t have any idea about electronic wastes that are found strewn all over. (Source – The Times of India)
