Jaipur: Improper disposal of end-of-life electronic and electrical devices in Rajasthan poses a major threat to the environment, a report by the Rajasthan State Pollution Control Board has said.
In its report titled ‘Inventorisation of e-waste in Rajasthan’, based on the physical assessment of waste management infrastructure in Jaipur, Jodhpur, Kota, Udaipur and Ajmer, RSPCB has said Jaipur alone accounts for over three kilos of e-waste per person, most of which the city is unable to process since waste disposal is largely in the hands of the informal sector. E-waste comprises out-of-use electronic and electrical devices and can pose a threat to environment and human health if it is not treated, disposed of, and recycled appropriately.
Though RSPCB says it gets its auhthorised dealers to organise door-to-door e-waste collection drives regularly in order to prevent it being handled by the informal sector, Jaipur’s e-waste is sold to scrap dealers in the NCR region.
The report, which pegs Jaipur as the largest generator of e-waste in Rajasthan, says, “As the amount of e-waste increased exponentially, it must be addressed because it contains hazardous materials….The foremost reason for the leakage of e-waste to the informal sector is people want money or exchange of the item for their e-Waste. This is the reason why most of the recyclers/ dismantlers are not able to get the enough e-Waste to run their businesses.”
It also explains the involvement of the informal sector in e-waste collection. “In the informal sector, the initial point of collection is held by ragpickers, and the second place in this stream is held by second-hand sellers, refurbishers and repairers…After that, the broken items are held at their place of business until they are finally offered for sale to scrap dealers,” it adds.
RSPCB officials told TOI they have run campaigns and awareness drives to urge people to discard e-waste judiciously, disseminated the names of 25 authorised e-waste refurbishers (7 are in Jaipur), dismantler and recycle units in Rajasthan on their website and notified 98 e-waste collection centres across Rajasthan. “We tell people kabadiwallas may collect e-waste, but that they process it in an unscientific way, which generates heavy metals, chemicals and pollutants, causing air and water pollution which affects health of the people,” an RSPCB official told TOI.
In Jaipur alone, e-waste generated in 2023 was 13,858MT of which bulk consumers contributed 568.8 MT and household contributed 13,290 MT. The report, released last week, was prepared by the Environment Protection Training and Research Institute (EPTRI) Hyderabad in collaboration with RSPCB and highlighted the involvement of the unorganised sector in e-waste collection.
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