A Bangalorean from a middle-income household generates 21 kg of
e-waste a year, according to a 2012 survey conducted by E-Parisaraa.

Much of this goes into the informal sector, with only about 10 per cent making it to the formal recycling centres.

According
to Solving the E-Waste Problem (StEP), an international initiative to
develop solutions for electrical and electronic waste problems, every
Indian generates 2.25 kg of e-waste a year. And keeping our population
in mind, this is no small number. The initiative’s forecast states that
the amount of electronic waste produced globally is set to grow by 33
per cent between 2012 and 2017.

In Bangalore, however, certain groups are now trying to turn things around, to minimise the dangers of e-waste pollution.

“I
guess people are still cautious about e-waste in this city. They don’t
really know what to do with it, yet. But from my experience, I’ve seen
that people here are quite open to discussions about it and when given
an accessible process, they are ready to take care of their e-waste in a
scientific method. The whole idea is to make things easily available,
because no one is going to make a trip to say, Peenya to handover a
couple of old phones or an old television set,” says David SR,
president, E-Cure, an NGO working in the e-waste sector, which seeks to
create awareness among both households and organisations.

It has
partnered with a recyclist in Peenya and facilitates disposing of
e-waste generated by households across Bangalore. They collect the
e-waste from various households and organisations and then hand it over
to the recyclist. The money that is generated from this is then
redirected into educating orphan girl children.

“Our vision is to
make Bangalore a zero waste city, and it is a reasonable goal to set, if
we follow certain guidelines and make waste collection and disposal an
accessible and scientific process. We’ve already spoken to over 45,000
households,” says David, who is also an ardent environmentalist and
works towards a greener city.

According to him, if scrap dealers
are educated on how to scientifically extract metal from e-waste and
recycle these products, instead of just burning them, which is both
hazardous to the scrap dealers and the environment, there could be a
major change in the way e-waste is handled.

Contact David SR at
9986452888 to know more about e-waste recycling and how you can be a
part of the movement as well. Additionally to get your e-waste picked up
right from your house/organisation, contact E-Parisaraa at their toll
free number: 1800 425 35287.