Most people dispose it carelessly

Unscientific disposal of e-waste can harm the environment

E-waste managers say that a majority of the households in the city are guilty of irresponsible disposal of domestic e-waste. The practice in most households is to either put all the waste into the garbage bin or sell it to the local scrap dealer. Scrap dealers usually sell e-waste to informal dismantling and recycling units. Experts say that this practice can be dangerous to the environment as well as the workers involved.

The city has over 20 waste collection centres that have been approved by the Pollution Control Board. A majority of these are located near industrial zones, and they collect items from government and private workspaces, which release waste in bulk.

S. Sreenivas, a smallscale collector of e-waste in Secunderabad, says that most of his waste comes from corporates that he has tied up with. “Local households give their ewaste to the scrap dealer. They are not aware that there are centres where they can deposit their waste and get paid as well,” he says.

With increased dependence on electronic items in the household, it comes as a surprise that the municipality hasn’t set up e-waste collection centres. “The city has 25 dry waste collection centres, all the municipality has to do is set up one for e-waste. The rules mandate that an ewaste collection centre must be set up every 25 sq km. In the Swach Sarvekshan Campaign, cities are judged on this aspect,” says Major Shiva Kiran of Sukuki Exnora.

Any wastes that the informal centres can't recycle end up at the dump yard in Jawaharnagar or any other open area.