IMPORTANCE OF E-WASTE COLLECTION
The foremost important step in ensuring the safe disposal of e-waste is the proper collection of e-waste. This requires that formal e-waste collection systems are setup that ensure e-waste is sent only to authorised and safe e-waste recycling facilities in India. In India, the kabadiwalas are able to pick up large quantities of e-waste from houses, offices, public and private institutions etc. This e-waste however ends up in informally run and highly polluting e-waste recycling units. To avoid this it becomes important to collect e-waste through formal channels of e-waste.
'FORMAL' COLLECTION
The “formal collection” activities fall under the requirements of e-waste legislation (E-waste Management Rules 2016), in which e-waste is collected by producers, and Producer Responsibility Organisations (PROs). This happens via retailers, municipal collection points, e-waste pick-up services, and/or e-waste collection drives.
At present WEEE-PRO has setup E-waste Collection Centres across 20 states in India. Each collection centre has a designated Contact Person who can be approached for e-waste pick up services in that area.
This E-Waste is sent to specialised treatment facilities that recover valuable materials in an environment friendly manner and manages the hazardous substances in an environment friendly manner.
E-WASTE COLLECTION DRIVES
WEEE-PRO encourages Public & Private Institutions alike to conduct e-waste collection drives at their premises. This can be a quarterly fixture where for ex. all the students can bring the e-waste stored at their homes to school which can then be collected by WEEE-PRO and recycled responsibly. WEEE-PRO can provide prizes to children that bring the most e-waste, and also conduct small classes and activities as well as recycling plant visits to educate the students on the importance of e-waste recycling. Similarly such collection drives can be conducted at corporate and government offices as well as RWAs. E-waste collection drives are an effective tool to ensure safe treatment of e-waste.
SAFE & EFFECTIVE E-WASTE RECYCLING
WEEE-PRO ensures all the e-waste channelled by it reaches not only authorized e-waste recycling facilities, but more importantly those that have the most advanced and effective e-waste recycling technology in India.
WEEE-PRO also provides its partnered e-waste recycling facilities with the latest best practices in terms of worker operations and environmental safety.
Through a rigorous process of financial and operational audits, WEEE-PRO ensures that its partner e-waste recycling facilities do not engage in any wrongful practices such as unsafe waste disposal or landfilling.