College girl launches e-waste venture in Hubli

HUBLI: A Master of Social Entrepreneurship (MSE) student has taken the initiative of collecting electronic waste from shops and households to prevent environmental hazards which arises when it’s burnt or unscientifically disposed.
Local administrations in India have neglected e-waste disposal and Vijayalaxmi Patil, a student of Deshpande Center for Social Entrepreneurship in Hubli, launched her own firm, e-vision. Her classmates Prasanna Hegde, Jitin Sunny and Sandesh R have joined her in it.
Vijayalaxmi told TOI she was worried about proper disposal of scrap like TVs, old CDs and wires which had accumulated at home. “I browsed the web and learnt that it’s a serious concern. I was disappointed to know that no administration has done anything in this regard in North Karnataka. Finally, I started e-vision with the support of my friends,” she said.
Prasanna Hegde said when they visited electronic shops, owners encouraged them. “It was difficult to convey some people as they thought we earned a lot from their e-waste,” he said.
Jitin, who knows how to asses the value of old electronic gadgets, said people aware about e-waste have been donating voluntarily.
Sandesh R said they’ve been given authorization by 4R Recycling, a company in Bangalore, to collect e-scraps and send them for recycling. “Jindal Aluminium of Bangalore is our client to provide e-waste,” he said.
Sumangala Lingaraj Angadi, a homemaker who gave about 70kg of e-waste, appreciated the students’ move. “I was clueless about disposal of TV, mixer, etc and I didn’t want to throw it in landfills,” she added.
Vijayalaxmi said her team has collected about 700kg of e-waste in the past 2 months. “We want to have a recycling unit in Hubli by next year. We also want to involve traditional scrap pickers,” she said.
Vijayalaxmi appealed to citizens to join hands in her venture. She can be reached at: and 8867323134.