Padhi calls for replication of BMC’s e-waste experience in other ULBs

Bhubaneswar: The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) and International Finance Corporation (IFC), a part of the World Bank Group, on Tuesday organised a stakeholder workshop to mark the completion of one year of the Clean E-Bhubaneshwar programme and to showcase the key activities.

Bringing together key representatives from the government, private sector, academia as well as citizens, the event felicitated 100 institutions/organisations to recognise their contributions to make the project a success.

Chief Secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi presented the awards and certificates.

The Chief Secretary said, “Clean E-Bhubaneswar program by BMC has enabled the formal sector to collect and properly dispose of several tons of e-waste in a short span of time. The Housing and Urban Development Department should now include other major cities and urban centres of the State under similar programmes to manage e-waste.”

Ambassador of the European Union to India Tomasz Kozlowski said, “It is impressive to see the way Bhubaneswar has progressed on a wide gamut of activities – e-waste, e-vehicles, rooftop solar, etc. and cemented itself as a leading Smart City in India. The European Union’s approach to waste management is being wise with waste. I hope European Union and India can continue to build on shared experiences and best practices to promote innovative mechanisms in tackling e-waste management by promoting public-private partnerships.”

Among others, BMC Commissioner Dr Krishan Kumar and Senior Scientist Odisha State Pollution Control Board Dr Dillip Kumar Behera were present along with other senior officials from different government department and organisations.

BMC Deputy Commissioner Srimanta Mishra said, “The city-based pilot project has collected nearly 9 tonnes of e-waste from over 60 entities which were channelised to certified formal recyclers through partner Producer Responsibility Organisations (PROs), hence minimizing the hazardous practices often employed by the informal sector.”

The Clean E-Bhubaneswar Initiative, over the past year, has implemented 74 awareness activities across the city including awareness workshops in over 35 schools and 17 colleges, reaching over 10,000 students, and engaging directly with over 175 government and corporate bulk consumers, and resident welfare associations.

The E-Bhubaneswar program is being implemented by IFC under the IFC – EU Eco-Cities Program. This unique project establishes a first-of-its-kind collaboration between local government entities, including the BMC, OSPCB, IT Department and the private sector to address Bhubaneswar’s e-waste management challenge by building awareness and developing a sustainable model for e-waste management in the city.

Presently Bhubaneshwar has a large informal network engaged in e-waste collection and processing, which includes door-to-door collection of e-waste along with other scrap material like glass and paper by waste pickers.