IFC, Attero rolls out Clean e-India program in four cities

International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Attero in a joint partnership have rolled out a first of its kind Clean e-India program in four major cities of India. This program also involved manufactures, distributors, informal sectors and consumers, who could help in creating awareness for the growing menace of e-waste. Under this program Attero will rope in informal waste collectors and collect and recycle e-wastes through an inclusive approach.

This initiative was undertaken as a part of sustainable solutions for the e-waste sector in emerging markets. This integrated program will set up collection centers in Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad. More than 15 IT and non IT companies including Wipro, Samsung, Volta, Acer, Videocon, and Haier are supporting this initiative.

At the launch of this program, Thomas S Davenport, director, south Asia, IFC, said, "The initiative is expected to provide waste management services to 1.5 mn people in India. The Clean e-India initiative aims to develop a sustainable and inclusive take-back system, by integrating all stakeholders and formalizing informal players from the unorganized sector into the organized e-waste supply chain. This platform will help producers to not only comply with the Government's regulation but also position it as a responsible corporate citizen."

According to Nena Stoiljkovic, IFC, VP for advisory services, said, "Given the fact that 95% of the e-waste is handled by the informal sector in India, one of the key challenges in the implementation of the e-waste rules will be the inclusion of informal players in the formal supply chain as it will impact on their livelihoods. Inclusive business model will be an integral part of any solution."

Speaking at the launch, Kapil Sibal, minister of communications and IT emphasized that the western world should not look at India as just access to the market but they should also be responsible for the environment. "When we see e-waste generations in the EU alone generates 7mn tonnes, US generates 4mn, China is at 2.5 mn tonnes and India generates 0.8 mn tonnes at the moment. India generates 1 kg per capita, which is 14 times lesser then US and Europe. By the time India's market become robust, it will be good to see that we have started the debate early to find an end-to-end solution."