29 January 2018 10:34 am Views - 2491
E-waste is a rapidly growing stream of waste from discarded electronics and appliances.
Over the recent past, Sri Lanka has seen an influx of cutting-edge electronics which have replaced in large quantities the existing equipment which are fast becoming obsolete in the middle of the speed technological advancements.
With that surge has come the need for effective recycling of e-waste debris accumulating relatively at an alarming pace.
Electronic waste or e-waste is an electronic or electrical item which is out of use, due to being outdated, beyond repair or has expired. The annual e-waste generation in Sri Lanka is nearly 70-75 metric tons and piles of cathode ray tubes (CRT), mobile phone, CFL bulbs, batteries, computers and other tech items mixed with domestic waste turn to trash and get dumped on landfills across the country leading to many environmental and health hazards due to the alarming range of toxic compounds they contain.
As an ISO 14001 certificated corporate entity that is committed towards minimising its environmental footprint, Access Engineering PLC embarked its annual E-waste collection drive for the fourth consecutive time partnering with Green Links Lanka on December 18th, 19th and 20th 2017.
The campaign which was launched as a corporate social responsibility initiative, managed to collect a total of 7038 kilograms of e-waste through 30 collection points spread across the country within three consecutive days.
“This annual e-waste collection drive is one of our efforts to fulfill the environmental sustainability this country is in need. With this campaign we raise the public awareness on the predominating issue of electronic waste while providing the Colombo metropolitan and the distant communities a reliable and environmentally safe process to dispose the electronics piled up at their households,” said Access Engineering PLC Senior General Manager Vasantha Manatunge.
Further to the individual participants, state and private companies across all spheres and sectors contributed to the collection with their redundant workplace electronic equipment for safe and environmentally friendly disposal. The total collection has been handed over to Green Links Lanka; an organisation that operates in accordance with the rules and regulations laid by the Central Environmental Authority of Sri Lanka (CEA)