Poor compliance with e-waste management and handling rules in the State is threatening human health and the environment, speakers at a seminar on ‘e-Waste Management’ held at the Regional Science Centre and Planetarium (RSC) here on Tuesday said.
M.P. Pillai, Director, National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology (NIELIT), inaugurated the event. A change would be possible only if the government put in place a strict enforcement mechanism and the right infrastructure to support e-waste management efforts, he said.
“The authorities should also encourage producers of electronic goods and gadgets to resort to eco-friendly designs besides bringing strict control on the use of hazardous materials,” Dr. Pillai said.
Explaining various aspects of and new challenges in e-waste management in the State, S.S. Nagesh Kumar, project executive, business development, Clean Kerala Company Ltd., said there was an alarming rate of increase in the production of e-waste across the country.
As per National Safety Council data, around 100 million computers/monitors were getting obsolete every year in the country. “The challenge it poses cannot be taken lightly,” Mr. Nagesh Kumar said.
E-waste was the collective name for discarded electronic devices that entered the waste stream from various sources, he said.
“Changing fashion trends, advancement in technology, and end of a gadget’s ‘useful life’ among other things led to the creation of e-waste,” he said. Most of the e-wastes comprised potentially hazardous materials such as cadmium, lead, and mercury.
Support sought for e-waste management efforts
Call to set up authorised collection centres
