BHUBANESWAR: The State Government has directed all the departments to strictly adhere to the Central guidelines for disposal of e-waste.
Since State Government offices have electronic equipments in bulk, they come under the purview of E-Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2011 under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
“As per E-Waste rules, all State Government offices are required to ensure that the electronic waste generated is channelised through Odisha State Pollution Control Board’s (OSPCB) authorised collection centres, registered dismantlers and recyclers,” said a communication from the Department of Information Technology.
The Forest and Environment Department has notified the guidelines for disposal of e-waste from Government offices with due approval of the Finance Department.
As per the Central guidelines, if any equipment is serviceable even after five years, the same cannot be declared as e-waste. If any electronic equipment is unserviceable before five years and requires to be declared waste, the original manufacturer has to certify that the equipment is not serviceable.
Each department/office will constitute a three-member committee for inspection of electronic items to be declared as e-waste. The committee will comprise a person who is well conversant with such equipment, a person dealing with finance and the person in-charge of the store.
Several States including Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala have formulated e-waste policy for scientific disposal of electronic items.
At present, most of the IT companies either give away the e-waste to recycler or sell it. Very few companies maintain an inventory about their e-waste or details about the manner in which it is being generated.