HYDERABAD: Hyderabad generates the highest amount of e-waste in the entire State. Further, of the total waste generated in the city, a majority is produced by private and public offices. This was revealed by a senior official with the Telangana State Pollution Control Board (TSPCB) on Thursday.
“Lack of awareness on e-waste is one of the primary reasons behind its pile-up. In a bid to curb it, the TSPCB is planning to start an e-waste awareness campaign at these offices in the city. This would ensure better collection and disposal of e-waste,” the official added.
“Hyderabad is an IT hub and has a lot of government offices as well. These produce a huge amount of toxic and hazardous e-waste. As there is very little awareness among these bulk consumers regarding e-waste, it eventually ends up going to the landfills or the unorganised sector, which, in turn, do not dismantle and dispose of e-waste properly, “ said Kumar Pathak, an Environmental Engineer with the TSPCB.
Speaking to Express, he said that the State has 10 dismantling units. “A list of organised dismantlers and recyclers has been uploaded on the TSPCB website. The bulk consumers can contact these units for disposing of their waste. If there’s a lot of waste, it can also be collected from their respective locations.”
Several city-based environmentalists, however, claimed that the TSPCB was trying to brush off its actual responsibilities by taking up awareness campaigns. An environmentalist said, “The TSPCB’s job is not to create awareness. It’s supposed to monitor and police the offenders.”
E-Waste a silent killer: Experts
In a bid to spread awareness about e-waste, the Federation of Telangana Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FTCCI), in association with corporate and government agencies, organised a seminar, ‘e-Waste Management: Sustainable Development’, on Thursday. Representatives from Ramky, an environment management service provider, and the TSPCB gave presentations on the ill-effects of e-waste. They also spoke about ways of reusing/recycling it, in addition to policies required to curb it.
“e-Waste can be anything ranging from old bulbs and wires to mobile phones and washing machines. These items contain metals and chemicals like cadmium, lead and mercury. They cause chemical leaching, which in turn pollute the groundwater,” said a faculty of NI-MSME.“Bholakpur in Hyderabad has become the e-waste dumping area. While on paper there are several legislations, including the State’s e-Waste Management Policy 2017, they are not being implemented,” said Dr Narasimha Reddy Donti, a public policy analyst.