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Students of Stella Higher Secondary School during the installation of e-waste bin at the school on September 27.
Morung Express News
Kohima | September 30
On September 27, the first e-waste bin was installed in Kohima at Stella Higher Secondary School in collaboration with e-CIRCLE, an e-waste management agency based in Dimapur. The effort was initiated along with an awareness programme on electronic and electrical waste management to encourage environmental responsibility.
“The e-waste bin which was installed at the school was initiated to encourage and instill in the students to responsibly dispose off their e-waste instead of dumping in the garbage site around their locality. The school believes in this initiative taken, that everyone is responsible to nurture and make our environment a better place as commanded by God,” says Thejavino Moa, Administrator, SHSS.
As Nagaland put concerted efforts in tackling the challenge of plastic menace in the State, the concept of e-waste is far from the agenda although studies indicate that electronic wastes are some of the most dangerous discarded items causing organ and neurological damages to the human body. (E-waste is any discarded unused electronic appliances/gadgets/devices such as televisions, laptop mobile phones, wires, chargers, bulbs, calculator, music system, electric kettle, electric tools etc).
According to Sowete-ü, Co-founder of e-CIRCLE, the most common e-waste in Nagaland are Cathode Ray Tubes (CRT), which are often found lying around repairing shops and discarded by even the scrap collectors as it holds lesser value. The agency which was founded last year has, so far, collected around 3000 CRTs in Dimapur alone. “People are still not aware that e-waste can be a problem in our State. It is more hazardous because they are openly dumped and not controlled,” asserts Sowete-ü citing the many illnesses that e-waste can cause such as lung diseases, kidney failure, memory loss, breathing problems.
Sowete-ü also expressed concern over the use of broken bulbs as manure in many Naga homes, whereby the produce in the kitchen garden are often consumed.
During the awareness programme at SHSS, the students were educated on how e-waste must be environmentally handled and ensuring that all proper steps be taken to protect adverse health and environment effects, which may be caused by e-waste.
An agreement was signed between the school, e-CIRCLE and its channel partner Hulladek Recycling Pvt. Ltd. Kolkata with a per annum fee, wherein the e-waste will be collected by the agency and treated and recycled at Hulladek.
“This is something our State need to pro-actively initiate when we are talking so much about Smartcity," affirms Moa who cites the example of neighboring countries who already have initiated e-waste bins and plants for more than a decade, at the same time regretting that the State do not have a single recycle plant.
Based in Dimapur, e-CIRCLE was founded in August 2018 as an e-waste management Agency and authorised by the Nagaland Pollution Control Board.
