Indian ‘e-bomb’ still ticking

India – An ambitious plan to set up e-scrap collection centres across the Indian city of Hyderabad appears to have hit a roadblock, ‘The Hindu’ writes. Five months after the provision of funding from the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC), nothing has been done to counter mounting waste concerns, it is contended.

Hyderabad – along with Delhi, Mumbai and Ahmedabad – has been taken under the wing of Clean India, an initiative launched by the IFC and by one of India’s first e-scrap companies Attero Recycling. This move was intended to yield an inventory of the region’s e-waste generation, which recent ‘conservative estimates’ put at around 20 000 tonnes per year. A ‘ticking e-bomb’, according to the Indian media.

Collection centres were supposed to be set up at strategic locations throughout Hyderabad. Although Attero has established a ‘mother collection centre’ in the major suburb of Mehdipatnam, operations are on hold as the company is yet to appoint a partner for proper oversight of material collected at several centres.

According to an Attero spokesman, a candidate has already been identified in a local non-profit organisation and further details will be announced over the coming days.

Some Hyderabad businessmen remain wary of the big plans, hinting that notable obstacles to be overcome include the absence of an organised market to deal with obsolete devices as well as import dependency.

For more information, visit: www.attero.in