SHIMLA: As the e-Waste is a new villain in the already waste-stressed environment, Himachal Pradesh State Pollution Control Board on Tuesday launched the 11 days long E-waste drive in the capital here in its bid to create awareness about safe disposal of e-waste in the state.

Nobody in Himachal knows the exact dimension of the e-waste as it remains confined to the private space environment, but the experts suspect that it is assuming serious proportions and warrant immediate attention.  

E-waste is one of the fastest-growing waste streams in the world and its disposal poses a big challenge to the state regulator and public.

E-waste includes any electronic and electric device that is no longer in use or has reached the end of its life cycle.

The increase in e-waste poses a significant threat to the environment, mainly due to the toxic materials used in the devices such as lead, cadmium, mercury and brominated flame retardants.

The e-waste can cause significant damage to the environment and human health if not disposed of properly.

The move is to encourage people to responsibly dispose of their electronic waste. This drive is being created with the help of  M/s Karo Sambhav (a Producer Responsibility Organization) that will last till 25^th March 2023.

Sanjay Gupta, Chairman, HP State Pollution Control Board kicked off the “e-waste collection drive van that will collect e-waste from HP Secretariat, Chhota Shimla and other parts of the Shimla city.

The mobile van shall be stationed at HP Secretariat, Chhota for 2 days on 14-15 March 2023 and thereafter shall cover various parts of the Shimla City (New Shimla-Vikas Nagar Bus Stand - Kasumpti Bus Stand- Devnagar - HP Secretariat, Chota Shimla - Sanjauli Parking – Bhattakufur) till March 25.

There are talks that the E-waste is being collected for recycling.   

An E-waste collection kiosk has been set up at HP Secretariat for two days on 14^th-15^th March.

Awareness campaign was launched for the purpose of raising awareness about the e-waste kiosk established at HP Secretariat, pamphlets have been distributed among the employees of HP Secretariat, Chhota Shimla to deposit/donate their e-waste to the e-waste kiosk and mobile van.

As our reliance on electronic devices continues to increase, so does the amount of e-waste generated.

Chairman HP State Pollution Control Board urged all consumers and citizen of Shimla to participate in the drive by depositing and donating e-waste to our mobile van and help us to save the environment.

The collected e-waste shall be sent to the dismantlers or refurbishers or recyclers for scientific disposal to take care of its hazards.

Gupta said the unscientific and improper disposal may pose threat to human health and environment.

By participating in this campaign, one can contribute to the safe and responsible disposal of e-waste, which is essential for a sustainable future, he added.

He further said media must raise awareness level of the people about the harmful effect of improper handling and disposal of e-waste and join the campaign.