THIRUVANANATHAPURAM: The E-waste (Management and Handling) Rules-2010, promulgated by the Government of India, will be implemented in the state from 2013. According to K Sajeevan, Chairman, Kerala State Pollution Control Board (PCB), in the first year of implementation of the rules, the PCB would be conducting an extensive survey to quantify the e-wastes being produced in the state.’’The PCB is planning to engage one or two agencies to conduct the survey,’’ he added. As part of generating awareness about e-waste management and handling, the PCB has already organised workshops in Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Kozhikode. “A detailed survey has to be done. We are planning to conduct more workshops in other places too. We have a lot of challenges to overcome before effectively implementing the rules,” he said. Sajeevan said the PCB would later give approval to efficient recyclists. So far, one or two agencies have been identified for the purpose. But the problem is that there is a trend of inexperienced agencies and people approaching the authorities for taking up the work after obtaining a little knowledge sourced from the Internet. But sufficient care will be taken before identifying genuine recyclists. Asked whether metro cities like Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram were facing any extra burden in tackling the issue of e- waste management in view of the presence of the Infopark and the Technopark, he said as the general characteristics of the e-waste were similar, it would not be difficult to handle the problem. “As the major generator of e-wastes like IT companies will opt for the buy-back facility, it will not be a major cause of worry. Once the e-waste management and handling rules get implemented, the conditions to be laid down for the suppliers to buy back e-wastes from major generators would be in place. The real problem lies with the e-wastes produced by individuals in their households. Sajeevan said provision for penalisation was already there to check contamination by e-waste.
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