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India’s digital initiatives have seen a rise in various products and services from many industries. E-waste management has become the talk of Bengaluru as Cerebra Green launches ‘India Clean Up Week’ as they partner up with Manufacturers Association of Information and Technology (MAIT), Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Ministry of Environment Forests and Climate Change (MOEFCC) and Digital India to launch the ‘India Clean-up Week’ (13th – 19th October, 2018) by conducting the largest e-waste collection drive in the country. 

Talking more about the initiative, Mr. V Ranganathan, CEO and Founder, Cerebra Integrated Technologies said, “E-waste is hazardous which makes its improper management a grave concern. A large portion of our population remains unaware about the concept of efficient e-waste management. This is a critical challenge to the modern Indian society, and there is a need for coordinated efforts from the government, NGOs, and the general public towards managing e-waste better for sustainable development. With the launch of the “India Cleanup Week”, Cerebra Green aims to collect a huge quantity of e-waste by the end of September, making it the largest e-waste clean-up drive in the country to date in an organized manner.” 

Seven cities including Bengaluru, New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune & Ahmedabad will be hosting the initiative. The program will be targeting 3 key stakeholders – RWAs, Bulk Consumers & General Public and aims to create awareness among them on environmental and health hazards of e-waste, environmentally sound disposal practices, enhance formalized collection processes for proper recycling and ensuring proper implementation of e-waste management rules 2016. 

According to Mr. Anwar Shirpurwala, Chief Executive Officer, MAIT, “Malpractices in breaking down non-working laptops, cell-phones and other goods – in India, which are generally burnt to dust, has resulted in the residue from EEE getting dumped in rivers, drains or disposed in solid waste dumps. Over time, this has led to the degeneration of land and water quality. We realize that a clean-up week in India is necessary and will help towards this cause. We have extended our partnership to Cerebra Green along with the other Govt bodies and hope that the association will help in amplifying and strengthening the initiative to achieve the desired results.” 

E-waste production in the country is predicted to touch a whopping 3 million tons by the end of 2018. While industries contribute to 70% of e-waste, Indian households contribute to almost 15% and the rest comes from discarded or ‘end of life’ electrical and electronic equipment (EEE). India is one of the fastest growing consumers of discarded or ‘end of life’ electrical and electronic equipment (EEE). 

Source: BUSINESSWORLD