The e-Waste Management Summit Nagaland Chapter, organised by Nagaland Pollution Control Board ( NPCB ) and Hulladek, was held at De oriental Grande Kohima on September 26.
In her keynote address, Aghali A Swu, Environmental Engineer (NPCB) highlighted that extreme weather witnessed in many parts of Nagaland where people are experiencing hot humid weather, flash floods, landslides, storms, etc. “It is no wonder that Kohima and Dimapur have been placed under non-attainment cities in India, for not meeting the air quality standards. Also, rivers in Nagaland such as Dhansiri, Chathe etc. have been placed under Polluted River Stretches in India,” said Swu.
Stating that there are several causes contributing to changes in the climate, Swu maintained that one of the main contributory factors is the improper management of waste. Wastes can be of different categories such as the BMW, Plastic waste, C&DM, Industrial Waste, electronic waste,etc. Swu highlighted on the specifics of electronic waste which refers to the discarded and end-of-life electronics products ranging from computers, equipment used in Information and Communication technology (ICT), home appliances, audio, and video products and all their peripherals.
“Every year, millions of electrical & electronic devices are discarded as products break or become obsolete or have reached the end of their useful life.
These E-waste are becoming a growing environmental concern because electronic and electrical products contain severalhazardous substances like lead, cadmium, mercury etc that can harm the environment and human health if not handled in an environmentally sound manner,” said Swu. She highlighted that e-waste is not hazardous if it is stocked in safe storage or recycled by scientific methods. The e-waste can, however, be considered hazardous if recycled in informal sector since e-waste is burned to recover economically valuable metals, such as copper, aluminium,gold, platinum, etc where open-air burning release toxic materials leaching into the environment.
“As our reliance on technology continues to grow exponentially with each passing year, so does the amount of e-waste produced globally. Currently, our country India ranks third among the largest generators of e-waste globally, behind only China and the U.S.
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The speaker expressed belief that the presence of e-waste collection centres and their effort and involvement in e-waste collection from different sources will go a long way towards environment protection. The goal of e-waste management, according to Swu, is to reduce the negative impact of electronic waste on the environment & human health by minimizing pollution, conserving natural resources & energy, and promoting sustainability. Proper e-waste management also ensures the recovery of valuable materials from e-waste such as gold, copper, and silver to create new products.
“Saving environment is not the responsibility of the State Government alone; not the responsibility of the Municipal Council/town council or village council alone. But it is every individual’s responsibility to protect and preserve our environment,” remarked the environmental engineer.
Sowete Letro Co founder of e-circle, highlighted the activities of e-circle in the state of Nagaland.
During the technical session, Mvudzeviu Shuya Scientist B NPCB spoke on e-waste Management rules 2022 while Nandan Mall, Founder and Managing Director, Hulladek Recycling private limited spoke on the activities on e-waste management by Hulladek recycling pan India.
