The new buzzword in the IT capital is e-waste and the city is gearing up to make sure the pilot project being held here is successful in bringing about the first legislation on managing electronic trash in the country.

The Ministry of Environment and Forests will bring out a legislation later this year based on the implementation of the work being done in Bangalore. The Indo-German-Swiss E-waste Management Initiative has been working to deal with the re-cycling of 2,500 tonnes of e-waste generated in Bangalore, the highest in the country, for the past three years. It is now at its final stages, perhaps just in time given the increasing e-waste generated in the country. While the disposal of e-waste has been a topic of debate for many years, there is an air of urgency due to the decreasing life span of all technical items such as computers, mobile phones and household appliances.

Says P Bineesha, chief environmental advisor with GTZ (German Technical Cooperation), which advises the state on management of hazardous waste: ‘‘Ten years ago when the problem started it was on a much smaller scale since electronics were not discarded quickly. However, now with so much advancement, electronics —both household and industrial— become obsolete very quickly and lead to the huge disposals every year.’’ GTZ is also the nation-wide nodal agency for e-waste management and provides technical know-how and funding. It is now tasked with putting together a draft legislation on e-waste management for the country for the Ministry of Environment and Forests.

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