Vijayawada to have its own e-waste collection point
According to the VMC officials, the city has been generating around 200 tonnes of e-waste per annum, but most of it goes unsegregated, posing a serious threat to the environment.
Published: 30th August 2018 04:24 AM | Last Updated: 30th August 2018 04:24 AM | A+A A-
E-waste comprises computer and other electronic devices
VIJAYAWADA:Over the years, segregating the e-waste generated in city has become a herculean task for Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC). To overcome the problem, the civic body is in talks with Guntur-based Smart Waste Management System (SWMS) to enter a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for setting up of an e-waste collection point at Auto Nagar of Vijayawada.
According to the VMC officials, the city has been generating around 200 tonnes of e-waste per annum, but most of it goes unsegregated, posing a serious threat to the environment. In this regard, Municipal Commissioner J Nivas has mooted for setting up an e-waste collection point in the city, following the e-Waste (Management) Rules, 2016, notified by the Union Ministry of Environment. As per its guidelines, manufacturers and unauthorised recyclers are responsible for segregation of e-waste in any Urban Local Body (ULB).
However, due to lack of designated e-waste collection points in the city, authentic dealers and scrap dealers end up illegally dumping the discarded batteries, cartridges, displays, mobile phones and computer wastes or burning them, causing land and air pollution. Once the e-waste collection unit is made operational in the city, the problem can be addressed, officials said.
Speaking to TNIE on Tuesday, SWMS Managing Director Ch Harish said that electrical and electronic waste was more hazardous than plastic waste. An e-waste collection point will be opened shortly at Auto Nagar and the waste collected will be shifted to Visakhapatnam, where it will be segregated into ‘hazardous’ and ‘non-hazardous’ by Green Waves Recycler, an authorised recycling unit in the State, he said.
“At the same time, we will create awareness among the mobile phone shop owners and scrap dealers about handling e-waste properly without causing harm to the environment.Plans are also being made to establish environment clubs at educational institutions across the city,” he said. The businesses will be told about the importance of e-waste segregation.
Cause for land, air pollution
Authentic and scrap dealers in Vijayawada end up illegally dumping the discarded batteries, cartridges, displays, mobile phones and computer wastes, or sometimes even burning them. This is causing land and air pollution
