KMC launches e-waste collection programme
Kolkata: The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) launched its e-waste collection programme in association with WEBEL and West Bengal Pollution Control Board (WBPCB) on Saturday declaring an incentive for the Kolkatans who will hand over e-waste at the collection centres set up for this purpose.
“About 33 metric tonnes of e-waste is generated daily in Kolkata and it is expected to rise further. We are setting up collection centres at all the 16 boroughs under KMC which will be completed by December. Two such centres will be functional at Borough I and Borough IX from September 17,” said Debabrata Majumder, Member Mayor in Council (Solid Waste Management) of KMC.
Mayor Firhad Hakim said that arresting e-waste has gained the utmost priority as it not only contaminates soil and water but also contributes to air pollution.
“The electronic items collected by local ragpickers who move door-to-door are broken down into pieces by bare hands in open spaces. This leads to the release of toxic gases into the environment which is harmful for their health as well as that of their family members,” Hakim added.
In the new rule, the listed items categorised under e-waste, have gone up from 21 to 106. These all are full of toxic components which are dangerous to human health, if not recycled properly.
Babul Supriyo, minister in charge of the Information Technology and Electronics department said that Webel (WBEIDC) has been nominated by the Bengal government as the state-level nodal agency for e-waste management in Bengal.
Webel has developed an App to be used by the persons manning the collection centres. A person wanting to dispose of his e-waste will have to come with the stuff along with an Aadhaar card at the centre.
The sale price (incentive) of the e-waste will be ascertained through the App and will be credited to the seller’s UPI account or bank account, as per details provided. Rajesh Kumar, principal secretary of WBPCB added that the Board handed over Rs 10 crore to WEBEL for developing processing facilities for e-waste.
“1.5 lakh MT of e-waste is generated in a year and only 50 MT can be processed presently. Hence bridging the gap is a challenge,” he added.
Webel is coming up with an integrated e-waste (electronic and electrical waste) management facility at Sonarpur in South 24-Parganas which is expected to be functional in December and will be able to handle 6 tonnes of e-waste per day.
