Mangalore City Corporation will shortly place on its premises a bin for the disposal of e-waste including old batteries, mobile chargers and dysfunctional mobile phones. This bin will be similar to the one installed by Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited in Mangalore .
MCC Environment Engineer Madhu S. Manohar told The Hindu that several institutions in the city had devised their own ways of disposing of e-waste. But no arrangement had been made for the collection of e-waste from households. The model of the bin installed by MRPL was found to be safe for the collection of e-waste. “This bin will be placed in another two months. If the response is good, such bins can be placed at the zonal centres of the MCC,” he said.
According to Karnataka Municipal Solid Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2000 types of e-waste should not be mixed with other solid waste. Computers, compact discs, mercury lamps, cathode ray tubes in televisions, and printed circuit boards were some types of e-waste. It was estimated by the MCC that the city generated about two tonnes of e-waste per day.
Bins placed by the MCC following a drive conducted in May 2011 have received a poor response. Bins were placed at six different centres in the city and also at the Regional Office of the Karnataka Pollution Control Board. “We went from house-to-house to collect waste. Not many came forward. But the bin is still here,” said Vanita Rai from the School of Social Work, Roshni Nilaya, one of the centres.
A representative of Bharat Mall said they were forced to remove the bin as not a lot of waste was collected in it. Moreover, the bin turned out to be a nuisance as people started to spit and throw other waste into it. Mr. Seshappa from the Government First Grade College, Car Street, said they had collected the waste and kept it in a corner of the college. “We are waiting for directions on how to dispose it,” he said. Bharat Mall and the Government First Grade College were among the six centres identified for e-waste disposal. Mr. Manohar said some of the institutions had been transporting e-waste to e-parisara, an agency for recycling e-waste.
