Confused on how to dispose of outdated computers and peripherals that are lying on shelves in your house? Well, here’s a solution for your niggling worries with a hardware technician from the city offering to buy them at your doorstep.
As several apartments prohibit entry of small-time scrap dealers and rag pickers due to security reasons, 40-year-old Srikanth Vardana has been purchasing the outdated computer peripherals from clients for the last one year. He will then sell the same to dealers who, in turn, hand them over to New Delhi-based agents on commission basis.
He said printer, mouse and keyboards would be purchased in kilos with price ranging between Rs. 7 and Rs. 10, while the price of monitors, central processing units, DVD writers and other peripherals would be fixed based on their manufacturer. “We will pay Rs. 400 and Rs. 500 for 15 inches and 17 inches monitors respectively on a condition that there should not be any external damage,” Mr. Srikanth, who discontinued B. Sc (Electronics), said.
According to Mr. Srikanth, the response from customers is relatively better as of now. As most people don’t know the consequences of dumping e-waste with plastic waste, the State government should come up with a strategy to educate people about the ill-effects of e-waste. He claimed that his initiative would help several people sell old computers and peripherals instead of dumping them along with plastic waste which causes environmental concerns.
“We are hopeful of more positive response from customers in the coming days,” he said. He added that the laptops would not be purchased as there is no proper resale value.
