Karnal civic body ready to launch e-waste segregation

Parveen Arora

Tribune News Service

Karnal, April 21

The Karnal Municipal Corporation (MC) is all set to introduce a third category of segregation apart from wet and dry ones, called electronic waste (e-waste) segregation.

The MC has hired a Manesar-based consultancy agency, which will not only make the employees aware about the segregation of e-waste before sending it to a waste management plant, but will also recycle it.

It will sensitise residents about its segregation from the source, for which it will organise awareness programmes across the 20 wards of the MC.

Rajiv Mehta, Municipal Commissioner, said the use of electronic goods was growing and resulting in the generation of e-waste, which was a health hazard.

With a little awareness about e-waste, the old electronic products were discarded by residents in bins and sold to scrap dealers at times. These were dumped along with the solid waste, which later reached the waste management plant, where it could not be recycled, he said.

“We have achieved 60 per cent segregation of dry and wet waste and have fixed a target to make it 100 per cent. Apart from it, we will make sure the e-waste is recycled from the source,” he said.

Dheeraj Kumar, Deputy Municipal Commissioner, said they had hired a consultancy company which would assist the corporation in spreading awareness among masses about the handling of e-waste.

“The MC will collect, transport and store the e-waste, which will be recycled by the consultancy company,” he said.

“We have set a goal to make the city e-waste-free. I appeal to residents to not mix e-waste like tubes, chargers, wires, cables, electronic gadgets, CDs, computers, mobiles and television parts with municipal waste,” he added.