PUNE: District governor of the Rotary Club, Deepak Shikarpur, said on Monday that there is a need to develop a public private partnership (PPP) model to deal with the vast volumes of electronic waste (e-waste) being generated in the city. He was speaking on the sidelines of the ongoing 8th Kirloskar Vasundhara International Film Festival here.
As part of the festival's foray into campuses this year, students of Fergusson College conducted an e-waste collection drive during the day. Among the films screened at the festival, a ten-minute short film "Electronic Trash Village" explores the issue of e-waste mounting in a city in China where hazardous chemicals are causing pollution and other environmental problems.
"E-waste is emerging as a major problem in our cities. In a city like Pune which is known as an IT hub, it is a serious concern. Unfortunately, people don't think of it as an important issue," Shikarpur said.
He suggested that a PPP model for collection and disposal of e-waste on the lines of how bio-medical waste is dealt with in the city, could be developed by the Pune Municipal Corporation and the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation.
He said stricter laws on e-waste disposal, imposing punitive action on companies that manufacture electronic goods for failing to ensure their proper disposal are required.
"The rules regarding e-waste disposal put the onus on the manufacturer for the entire life-cycle of the product. But there is no penalty for failing to properly dispose these hazardous wastes," he said.
Shikarpur said it is very common to find e-waste stored in homes instead of entering the recycle stream. "Materials like CDs are stored in your homes, but newer technology has rendered them obsolete. Instead of just storing them, you must look at ways of disposing them properly," he added.
