Three months after new rules on collection and disposal of electronic waste came into effect, the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has collected seven tonnes of e-waste. It has tied up with a private firm for recycling of the e-waste in Roorkee.
The Central Pollution Control Board and the Delhi government had framed the guidelines.
Starting as an experiment, the council initially collected ewaste such as discarded computers, cellphones, scanners, motherboards, digital alarms and security devices from schools and offices.
“We will approach the RWAs to help us collect household ewaste,” NDMC official Amit Prasad said.
NDMC joint director K Murugan said: “We have hired a company to collect e-waste and recycle it.”
The company, Attero Recycling, has been made a partner in the project.
Nitin Gupta, CEO of the firm, said: “We have been helping the corporation in spreading awareness and meeting different stakeholders in the electronic waste management system. Though the rules for this disposal mechanism were notified in May, producers of electronic goods have not taken up the matter. So, we partnered with the corporation to reach out to the consumers and educate them about the disposal process.”
The E-waste (Management and Handling) Rules 2010, drafted by the Environment Ministry and notified in 2011, came into effect from May 1 this year.
The Delhi government officials said the rules were framed to regularise the large unorganised sector that is engaged in disposing off hazardous materials. The guildelines also envisaged taking the producers into account.
Welcoming the corporation’s initiative, Dr Sandeep Misra, member secretary of Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC), said: “The rules say the manufacturers must contribute towards disposal of e-waste. We are trying to convince the large multinational companies and this process is likely to take at least another year. Indiscriminate prosecutions will not serve the purpose. We want a long-term system.”
For now, the department of Environment is also concentrating on roping in consumers and ragpickers for segregating e-waste. “With the help of NGOs, we are training ragpickers and scrap dealers to identify e-waste. These will be sent to four registered recycling centres in the NCR. Delhi has no recycling unit,” Mishra said.
The users of e-products at homes are made aware of the initiatives. E-waste rules are enforceable under Environment Protection Act of 1986, which apply equally to home-users, large-scale users and recyclers.
In the NDMC areas, community workers with the help of Attero, have been visiting schools and offices to collect e-waste - old computers, cell phones, televisions, scanners, microwaves, and motherboards.
The corporation admitted that community workers and RWAs had to be roped in because people seldom use designated e-waste bins that were installed in several areas.
NDMC officials said of four e-waste bins were placed in Palika Kendra and one at Shaheed Bhagat Singh Marg.
“People use them to discard other waste which makes segregation of e-waste difficult. We will put e-waste bins in community centres where these can be monitored,” one of the officials said.
