To effectively combat ‘e-waste’ mess, Odisha pitches for ‘Clean e-Bhubaneswar’ project

Bhubaneswar, January 13: As the pile of ‘e-waste’ is on the steady rise, Odisha planning to combat ‘e-waste’ pollution by drawing out effective solutions. On Friday, Bhubaneswar Finance Corporation (IFC) organised the first stakeholder workshop for the Clean e-Bhubaneswar Project, bringing together government, private sectors and the academia to deliberate on strategic solutions for making Bhubaneswar e-waste free. 

The project aims at developing a sustainable model for e-waste management in the city with the goal of establishing a first-of-its-kind collaboration between the local government entities, including BMC, State Pollution Control Board, IT Department and the private sector to address e-waste management challenges.

The Clean e-Bhubaneswar Project is a part of the IFC-European Union Eco-Cities Programme. The Eco-Cities India is a multi-year climate-change focused programme aligned with Government of India’s Smart Cities initiative as it is structured around designated ‘Smart Cities’ – Bhubaneswar, Bengaluru, Chennai, Mumbai and Pune.

The long-term objective is to help India meet its nationally determined contributions (NDCs) by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and mobilizing private sector finance through a combination of established and innovative interventions designed for the Indian market.

The implementation of the project is being undertaken by the consortium of Sofies Sustainability Leaders Pvt. Ltd. and city-based Siddha Development Research and Consultancy. This consortium will focus on establishing an effective e-waste collection system in the city to ensure proper channelization of e-waste, generating awareness and developing a sustainable e-waste ecosystem in the city.

The workshop was organized at the Infosys Campus at Info City, Patia, to launch city-wide collection and awareness campaigns under the Clean e-Bhubaneswar Project. The workshop highlighted the hazards of e-waste, methods of proper recycling, and opportunities in terms of resource extraction, and the pressing need for appropriate e-waste management and potential options that may be implemented.