Wednesday, September 05, 2007

eWaste disposal needs to be tackled


“We are the largest collectors of WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) in India (550 million-tonnes-peryear). Still we are only collecting a 5% to 7% of total eWaste generation,” says Subash Warrier, Manager, Environment, Health & Safety of Chennai-based Trishyiraya Recycling India Private Limited, adding, “We have been off erring eWaste collection since 1999 even from houses, but till today we have not been able to collect even a single pack!” Many local scrap dealers use the waste to extract precious metals like aluminium, platinum & gold that are present in various electronic goods. HCL Infosystems and Intel are instances of companies that have taken the issue seriously. Points Rahul Bedi, Director, Corporate Affairs, Intel South Asia, “We follow the strictest policies for eWaste management... we do what’s best for the Earth.”

However, despite such efforts, the eWaste problem is a growing menace and needs to be handled in a more proactive manner. Right from ethical recycling policies to ensuring eWaste deployment, Indian IT giants need to take on this task as a responsibility and not a liability. We just hope more companies act beyond the pen and paper stage.
For Complete IIPM Article, Click on IIPM Article
Source: IIPM Editorial, 2007
An IIPM and Management Guru Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri's Initiative

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