E-Waste Management
I believe that the one major thing to ponder on is the root of this problem, which according to me is what people perceive to be convenient and profitable. This is true for both e-waste management and Municipal solid waste. for e.g. Tell me where would you throw your old electronics? Do you know of a place where you could do it? What is the most convenient way for you to do it?
Sadly, for most of the population of India there is no popular method to dispose off their waste. They simply throw everything in the dustbin at home or office and think that somebody else will take care of it and their job is done. We see companies like Nokia coming up with their recycle your old mobile phone campaign, but this is not enough to deal with the problem.
Similar to convenience, we can talk about profitability. This is more suitable in the case of the dealer of such e-scrap. He will find the most easiest and profitable way for him to work. He will employ cheap labor including children, he will use traditional methods and minimum safety measures to cut costs.
The solution for both the problems can be done at a micro and macro level-- micro for the people where they have a disposal facilities available to them, because according to my experience-people are willing to help and work for the cause if you provide them with an opportunity. Ofcourse, very less go out of the way to do an extra effort but normal people would be willing to contribute if you provide them with facilities, like communal e-waste bins, bins in all schools, offices, malls etc.
On a macro level, we have to set up more and more organisations on a big scale which have appropriate funding and resources to deal with such waste and I don't mind if the private sector takes over to this job. These orgs can employ local people who are skilled in this work. i.e. informal sector. This way the poor people get better profits and safety in their jobs.
In the end, I would like to share this piece of article -- http://www.merinews.com/article/delhi-gets-eco-friendly-to-get-bins-for-e-waste-disposal/15800813.shtml
http://eco-wise.info/
I believe that the one major thing to ponder on is the root of this problem, which according to me is what people perceive to be convenient and profitable. This is true for both e-waste management and Municipal solid waste. for e.g. Tell me where would you throw your old electronics? Do you know of a place where you could do it? What is the most convenient way for you to do it?
Sadly, for most of the population of India there is no popular method to dispose off their waste. They simply throw everything in the dustbin at home or office and think that somebody else will take care of it and their job is done. We see companies like Nokia coming up with their recycle your old mobile phone campaign, but this is not enough to deal with the problem.
Similar to convenience, we can talk about profitability. This is more suitable in the case of the dealer of such e-scrap. He will find the most easiest and profitable way for him to work. He will employ cheap labor including children, he will use traditional methods and minimum safety measures to cut costs.
The solution for both the problems can be done at a micro and macro level-- micro for the people where they have a disposal facilities available to them, because according to my experience-people are willing to help and work for the cause if you provide them with an opportunity. Ofcourse, very less go out of the way to do an extra effort but normal people would be willing to contribute if you provide them with facilities, like communal e-waste bins, bins in all schools, offices, malls etc.
On a macro level, we have to set up more and more organisations on a big scale which have appropriate funding and resources to deal with such waste and I don't mind if the private sector takes over to this job. These orgs can employ local people who are skilled in this work. i.e. informal sector. This way the poor people get better profits and safety in their jobs.
In the end, I would like to share this piece of article -- http://www.merinews.com/article/delhi-gets-eco-friendly-to-get-bins-for-e-waste-disposal/15800813.shtml
http://eco-wise.info/
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