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bE-Responsible : An initiative for e-waste management

Rajalakshmi Gopalakrishnan

Saahas in partnership with Environmental Synergies in Devel- opment (ENSYDE), is implementing an initiative called bE-Re- sponsible, to encourage responsible e-waste management in 30 wards of Bengaluru . The initiative focuses on non-bulk e-waste collection through sensitisation and multiple collection/dis- posal options for households and institutions, and sending the collected e-waste to authorised recyclers. Through this program we have provided very easy options for the citizens to drop e-waste i.e e-waste drop boxes at public places with support from Bangalore ones, Post offices and Rotary clubs and on call pick- up from doorstep. We have also used technology to improve the efficiency of the collection channel by optimising the mo- bile van utilisation and generating and sending out electronic receipts to the e-waste donor. The program was started in No- vember 2016 and since then we have reached out to hundreds of institutions and Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) in Bengaluru via digital marketing, radio jingles,etc to bring them onboard the bE-Responsible Initiative and have collected ap- proximately 33 Tons of e-waste till now. We have tied-up with recyclers authorised by the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) to ensure that the e-waste collected is managed in a socially and environmentally responsible manner.