Cerebra Green, the e-waste division of Cerebra Integrated Technologies Ltd. has announced the start of the second edition of its flagship campaign, India Clean-Up week, from October 11 – 17, 2021. Aimed at bringing awareness to International E-Waste Management Day on October 14th, this is the country’s largest e-waste collection drive.
India is the third-largest producer of e-waste, generating over 3.23 million metric tonnes per year, with 70 percent originating from 10 cities alone. This number is growing as the onset of the pandemic has induced an increase in the number of electronic devices being used per household. Through this week-long program, Cerebra Green aims to educate individuals about the need and benefits of responsible e-waste management in India.
“Today, 95% of the e-waste is handled by the informal sector, like your kabadiwalas and scrap dealers, leading to the e-waste being dumped in landfills. There is an urgent need for individuals and society to be educated about e-waste, and its impact on the environment. This campaign aims at achieving just that,” said Ravi Neeladri, CEO, Cerebra Green. “In fact, given the exponential increase we anticipate in the coming years, we have doubled our Recycling & Refurbishment Capacity of 20,000 metric tonnes to 40,000 metric tonnes,” he added.
The program is multi-forked, and this year the company is collaborating with various enterprises, and NGOs to not only share information and spread awareness about the impact of e-waste, but also help collect e-waste across the country. The devices collected and refurbished through this seven-day community activity will be donated to various NGOs to help children from underprivileged backgrounds with online learning and education.
In addition to the collection drive, Cerebra Green is also introducing a pledge through an informative online quiz that encourages them to dispose of their next e-waste in the right manner. This is the second such drive organized by the company. As part of the first India Clean-up Week in 2018, the company collected 10 metric tonnes of e-waste.