Bin to be installed at Saraswathipuram Head Post Office

Mysuru:  In a first for the Cultural Capital, an e-waste bin will be installed at Saraswathipuram Head Post Office on Sept. 27 (tomorrow) at 2 pm. The initiative, bE-Responsible, has already been successfully implemented in Bengaluru since 2016 by NGO Saahas and Environmental Synergies in Development (Ensyde). 

The initiative is now being expanded to Mysuru by India Post and Swami Vivekananda Youth Movement (SVYM) in collaboration with bE-Responsible. Under the initiative, a drop-box will be placed at the Head Post Office, Saraswathipuram to collect discarded electrical or electronic devices. The event will be inaugurated by Dr. M.S. Jayanth, Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) Health Officer and Dr. J.S. Bhyralingaiah, Community Development Expert, DAY-NULM Section, MCC. 

E-waste is one of the fastest growing waste streams and India is the 5th largest generator of e-waste. More than 90 percent of e-waste ends up in the informal sector for recycling with serious repercussions on human health and the environment.

Hazardous task

The informal sector works on a small scale with minimal facilities and equipment to take care of the hazardous elements like lead, mercury, cadmium etc. present in the e-waste. E-waste also has some rare earth elements that need to be extracted and recycled efficiently which can only be done in well-equipped facilities. 

The onus is on households to transport e-waste to authorised collection centres. The process has not been monetised which is why people often resell equipment to unauthorised collectors for a few rupees. The latter do not follow scientific or safe processes to extract metals, causing pollution.

The e-waste drop box is a big step towards being an E-Responsible city. The drop box facility can be utilised by public to dispose of their e-waste in an environmentally safe manner. The logistics of collecting e-waste and giving it to authorised recyclers will be handled by bE-Responsible in partnership with India Post. SVYM will be assisting them in sensitising local communities such as Resident Welfare Associations, schools, apartments, colleges, etc. 

Success in Bengaluru

bE-Responsible has carried out over 260 successful campaigns in various formats ranging from street plays, competitions, presentations to door-to-door talks in several parts of Bengaluru. 

Covering around 40 wards in Bengaluru, the bE-Responsible initiative has so far collected over 50 tonnes of e-waste, placed over 40 public e-waste drop boxes at supermarkets, post offices, clubs, etc., and conducts more than 80 scheduled collections every month. Over 8 lakh citizens have been sensitised on the issues related to e-waste. E-wastes collected under this initiative is sent to Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB)-authorised recyclers. 

The sensitisation programme for the staff of SVYM and bE-Responsible will be held on Sept.27 from 10.30 am to 12.30 pm at V-Lead Campus on Hebbal Ring Road, followed by the main programme at Saraswathipuram Head Post Office at 2 pm. 

For more information log on to www.be-responsible.in  or e-mail: [email protected].

Second e-waste initiative 

Though the drop box is the first-of-its kind project in Mysuru, the e-waste collection is second such initiative. The first initiative was launched by city BJP and MLA S.A. Ramdas, in association with MCC, Mysuru Urban Development Authority, Karnataka State Pollution Control Board, Department of Education and Police Department along with private organisations such as Let’s Do It! Mysore, GSS Foundation and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). 

As part of this initiative, e-waste will be collected by Pourakarmikas from all households across the city on 17th of every month. 

The collected e-waste would be auctioned and sold and the funds generated from the auction would be used for ‘Green-Mysuru’ initiative.