Jamshedpur, the steel city got its first electronic waste management centre. Jamshedpur Utilities & Services Company Limited (JUSCO), in collaboration with Kolkata based company, Hulladek Recycling, inaugurated the first electronic waste management centre on Birupa road in Sakchi at Jamshedpur. East Singhbhum deputy commissioner, Amit Kumar, inaugurated the centre. Also present were Tata Steel vice president, corporate services (VPCS), Chanakya Chaudhary and Jusco managing director, Tarun Daga.
According to Hulladek Recycling, Jamshedpur generates about 1500-2000 metric tonnes of e-waste annually. So, if anyone wants to give away their unused electronic waste, one can go at the centre and deliver the waste there. One has to fill a form, record keeping and also to ensure that the products are not stolen. As per the rate chart, the centre will then transfer the amount to one’s bank account.
Laptops, notebooks, notepad computers, cellphones and its spare parts will cost `78.8 per kg including GST while television sets including LED and LCD will cost `15.8 per kg. Refrigerator and washing machines will cost `10.5 kg.
“This is a unique way to celebrate World Environment Day. I appreciate the collaboration between Jusco and Hulladek. In fact, the latter is also approved by the Central Pollution Control Board. We will also extend our support in case anyone proposes to start an industrial unit for recycling,” said Kumar.
An official said that socially responsible marketing is critical of excessive consumerism and environmental damages caused by corporations. It is based on the idea that market offerings must not be only profit-driven, but they must also reinforce social and ethical values for the benefit of citizens, including those at the bottom of the pyramid.
It may be mentioned that India is one of the fastest growing economies of the world and the growth in PC ownership per capita between 1993 and 2000 was 604 per cent, compared to a world average of 181 per cent. India, the second most populous country with over 1 billion people, is gradually becoming the major e-waste producing countries in the world.
Also, the illegal import and the unauthorised recycling of e-waste in India as other developing countries are emerging as a new environmental challenge at the present moment.