An e-waste awareness programme for bulk consumers envisaged under the Clean e-Bhubaneswar Project was launched on Friday.
The BMC office was the first Government office in the city to undergo such an awareness campaign as the project has already started educating school students on the importance of e-waste. Senior BMC officials were present.
The event also marked the commencement of an e-waste collection drive at the BMC premises, and as an initiation of the processes for inventorisation and channelisation of e-waste generated at the BMC.
The awareness event was organised by the BMC and project implementation partners Sofies Sustainability leaders Pvt. ltd. and Siddha Development Research and Consultancy (SDRC).
The event focused on key aspects of e-waste and its management. The global, Indian, and Bhubaneswar city-level e-waste scenarios, their significance and volumes, were reviewed along with the hazards and opportunities surrounding e-waste management. The E-Waste (Management) Rules, 2016 were discussed as well as roles of the different stakeholders as defined by these rules. The roles and responsibilities of bulk consumers were examined in detail.
As per an unofficial estimation, the city is generating more than 2,700 tonnes of e-waste in a year. While desktop PCs including their accessories and peripherals constitute the maximum of the e-waste burden, mobiles have become another headache towards the e-waste mess.