Every individual of the country to must become part of Clean To Green campaign by Reverse Logistics Group. It can be in any capacity depending on your individual and professional spectrum. The sole purpose is to ensure responsible e-waste recycling in India. This responsibility word contains a lot of gravity. And in this case, every drop counts. Every individual, business, shop, industry, state government, ministry, professional needs to walk together in this regard. We are already late in creating a Green India. But it is always better to start late than never. At least, if everybody understands the importance, together we can escalate its intensity and pace. Reverse Logistics (RLG) Group has its headquarters in Munich, Germany. CIERP i.e. Clean India Electronics Recycling Platform is the name of the drive launching in India. The purpose of this platform is to empower producers in various aspects of responsibility.
CIERP will help electronic good producers in the country to fully comply with the legal regularities that the E-waste Management Rules prescribes. It also aims to assist in formalizing the e-waste sector which is functioning in a very informal and unorganized manner. So what is the most important task to accomplish Clean To Green? It is the awareness that can do wonders. So the first and foremost task is to create awareness. Once every consumer becomes aware, a sensitive ecosystem will automatically start evolving. Because then everybody will own the responsibility of disposal of electronic gadgets in a safe manner. That means everyone will have to become a responsible stakeholder to ensure every recycling material reaches responsible organizations like Reverse Logistics Group. The organization has now a strong presence in India working with respective ministries, state governments, research organizations, and respective professional agencies. The goals are very clear.
Clean To Green Is A Mission To Accomplish By Every Individual
RLG targets to collaborate with 150 collection points to streamline substantial e-waste volumes. It is already working in many countries across the globe with the similar goals and making a country green. And thus creating a responsible world together. The first purpose of the campaign is the increase mass awareness and thus sensitize consumers. Everyone should understand how and where to dispose electronics gadgets in order to be a responsible citizen of the world. This electronic gadget could be anything like a geyser, washing machine, Plasma, TV, phone, etc. To some, these E-waste management rules might appear stringent in the beginning. But that is not the case actually. It is all about changing the mindset. And looking at the things with a new perspective. Probably in a more responsible manner. Once this starts happening, the awareness and responsibility for Clean To Green will start spreading in a voluminous manner.
The overall purpose of Clean To Green campaign is dual in nature. Firstly, it aims to make E-waste management rules become effective in India as fast as possible. Secondly, it targets to minimize the negative impact of substandard means of e-waste disposal on our environment. There was, in fact, a very thoughtful panel discussion on the eve of the launch of this campaign. The title of the panel discussion was ‘Re-imagining E-Waste: Creating Sustainable Solutions For India’. The experts participating in the panel discussion were from various fields of life. The goals, in fact, are quite clear. It is, now, the time of action and implementation in an organized and collaborative manner. Every producer of electronic products has some responsibilities towards the environment. It is important for all of them to understand the obligations under Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) legislative. Only then there can be a fruitful collaboration.
Clean To Green Is a Drive To Make Our Environment Health
After all, safe disposal of e-waste is critical for the health of our own environment. That is the purpose of Clean To Green campaign. Satish Sinha, Associate Director, Toxics Link was moderating the panel discussion. Other panelists were Manoj Kumar Gangeya, Director HSMD, MoEF; Dr. Sandip Chaterjee, Director Sc. F & OSD to Secy. MeitY: Anand Kumar, Sc. E & Divisional Head, Central Pollution Control Board; Anwar Shirpurwala, Executive Director, MAIT; Dr. Deepali Sinha, Managing Director, Sofies Group; Shahabuddin Shakir Ali Baig, Director H.A.U Traders. Dr. Lakshmi Raghupathy, Adviser, MAIT finally concluded the event with very thoughtful pointers.
India stands at the fifth position when it comes to the largest e-waste producing countries in the world. As a matter of fact, probably, it was out of focus so far. Because hardly 1.5% of the total e-waste is recycled in a proper manner. So, the situation is quite serious. In fact, we produce more than 18 lacs metric tons (MT) of e-waste every year. And an estimation says it is growing at a rapid pace to reach a level of 52 lacs MT by the year 2020. Not all people know that electronics gadgets constitute a lot of valuable material that is recoverable with proper dismantling. It contains precious material like gold, copper, aluminum on one hand. And on the other hand, it also contains hazardous materials like cadmium, mercury, and lead. That is why proper and safe recycling of e-waste and Clean To Green is of prime concern.
Clean To Green Ensures Toxics Not Going Back To Environment
If we follow above properly, only that it ensures harmful toxins not getting back in the air, soil, and water. In fact, recycling of such material also ensures a reduction in power and water usage during the manufacturing of new materials. That is where RLG India and ‘Clean To Green’ comes into the picture. The organization will now manage and operate the PRO i.e. Producer’s Responsibility Organization on behalf of producers. They will, in return, get a reliable, sustainable, and efficient way to ensure their compliance with EPO. Obviously, these are specialized processes. And producers are funding these processes to help consumers. The consumers, thus, can recycle their electronic gadgets free of charge. But definitely, by doing so, they are contributing back to nature in a positive manner.
The Clean To Green campaign will involve the whole electronic industry and enterprises. They will jointly resolve the issues of e-waste by successful deployment of this campaign across the country with a goal of safe disposal and recycling of electronic products. It is obviously a big challenge of channelizing e-waste in an environment-friendly manner. It will involve massive pickup and processing. Along with all this, the purpose is to recycle and reuse the valuable metals for future electronics. And there has to be a commitment of assurance that none of the hazardous e-waste will poison the environment in any manner and through any medium.
Clean To Green Is About proper e-waste management
Speaking at the launch, Patrick Wiedemann, Global CEO, RLG says “The electronic consumption is rising around the world, thus requiring a solution on handling the defective and no longer in use electronics. At RLG we are committed to working towards creating a truly sustainable economy that works without waste, saves resources and is restorative by its circular design. India’s rapid economic growth is expected to intensify consumption and result in a significantly higher generation of e-waste. In light of this, we are bringing global expertise in recycling, technical standards and e-waste management techniques to address the need of the hour through the ‘Clean to Green’ campaign.”
Radhika Kalia Managing Director, RLG India adds, “Proper disposal and recycling of electronics is a national priority and the government has initiated a policy which showcases the seriousness of the issue. In alignment with the e-waste management rules initiated by the government of India, we are focussed on working towards the betterment of the environment and the well-being of the society. We will leverage our highly innovative, comprehensive return management solutions, which enable manufacturers and distributors to actively drive product returns and thus facilitate multiple cycles of use.”
Clean To Green Is Taking momentum With the help of all stakeholders
There is already some action on the floor for Clean To Green campaign in India. An awareness is happening on a large scale. The initial launch will involve 50 RWAs, 5 corporate offices, and 20 schools in Delhi NCR. This is the part of the pilot project. Gradually, the whole drive will scale up to create a high momentum by approaching more RWAs, corporates, and creating Green Clubs in schools. RLG has already a wide presence on 4 continents. By now, in India, we have 31 collection points and warehouses. In addition, there are 7 dismantling facilities and 4 certified recycling locations. There are already hazardous waste treatment plants in the country who have become partners of RLG to boost this drive. Every partner undergoes a proper approval mechanism and regular audit process to ensure every stakeholder in the chain follows stringent health, environment, and safety standards.
