MPCB body to manage e-waste

The Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) has formed an association of NGOs and IT firms to establish an environment-friendly and sustainable system for managing e-waste in the city.

According to MPCB estimates, Mumbai generates around 23,000 metric tonnes of e-waste a year, and if not managed properly, this could be a major cause for concern by
2015.

A pressure group for e-waste management, involving MPCB member secretary Sanjay Khandare, Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) environment secretary Valsa Nair, the NGO Clean Sweep Forum and other IT units, was formed at the Indian Merchants’ Chamber on Saturday.

“We already have a core group which will evolve a framework by formulating rules and  regulations, and physical infrastructure like land for e-waste,” Khandare said, adding that e-waste would reach significant proportions in Mumbai by 2015 if not managed well.

“E-waste management has just begun by appointing companies authorised by MPCB for e-waste processing. We are also pooling in IT companies who are e-waste generators and are required to obtain consent from MPCB to establish and operate by incorporating a condition that they will give the e-waste to authorised re-processors.”

Khandare said that presently, e-waste goes as municipal solid waste (MSW). “People in the unorganised sector in places like Dharavi and Andheri are segregating this e-waste unscientifically and informally, generating toxic fumes that pose environmental hazards. It is even bad for workers engaged in segregating and re-processing it,” he said.