Hyderabad, May 06: Even as the Central government is drafting new rules for electronic waste (e-waste) management under the e-waste (Management and Handling) Rules 2010, e-waste is fast piling up in the backyard of Hyderabad with the officials turning a blind eye to the threat.
The city has climbed up on the list of top-10 e-waste-producing cities in the country, with a daily generation of about 25 ton. An estimated 10,000 ton of e-waste was produced in the State during the last financial year with a major contribution (about 6,000 ton) from Hyderabad, industry sources said.
Shockingly, only 10 per cent of this e-waste is collected, dismantled and recycled by authorised e-waste recycling units in the State. “The remaining e-waste is being transported to black and grey markets in the city and also at Mumbai and New Delhi. As unauthorised recycling units pay more for the e-waste, many, including big companies, are not interested in selling it to authorised recycling units,” sources said.
S John Robert, chief executive officer of Earth Sense Recycling, admitted to the sale of e-waste to hazardous and unauthorised recycling units. “We can hardly pay Rs 25 a ton, while the unauthorised units pay almost double the price,” he said. Earth Sense Recycling is the first e-waste recycling unit in the State at Mankhal near here.
However, the State government is yet to wake up to the e-waste hazards. There is no special mechanism to deal with e-waste in the State. The officials feel that there is no e-waste accumulating in the city. “Currently, we do not have any such (e-waste management) facility in the city as there is no immediate need,” said Krishna, environmental engineer of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation. He, however, claimed that solid waste management is their priority.
–Agencies