Xiaomi to support Karnataka’s e-waste awareness drive along with Saahas

Xiaomi India announced on Friday that it has collaborated with Saahas Zero Waste to support Karnataka State Pollution Control Board’s (KSPCB) e-waste awareness drive. The one-month long initiative will see Saahas Zero Waste  – a waste management company based out in Bengaluru, tech giant Xiaomi and other participating brands helping the KSPCB to spread awareness about the electronic waste in all 31 districts of the state which has a total population of around five million.   

The participants have pledged to station e-waste collection bins across all the stores and service centres in the state with the support of urban local bodies. During the campaign, the participants will spread words about electronic waste, collect the same and channelise it for recycling to authorised recyclers. The initiative aims to collect about 100 tonnes of e-waste in a month.  

Manu Kumar Jain, Managing Director, Xiaomi India, said, “At Xiaomi India, our focus is not only on responsible recycling, but also on awareness generation. KSPCB’s initiative to spread awareness on e-waste is a step forward towards building a sustainable and future ready tomorrow. We are honoured and privileged to be a part of this e-waste drive in Karnataka. Our partnership with Saahas Zero Waste further encourages us to push the boundaries of building a more sustainable and future ready tomorrow for consumers across the city.”

Dr. Shanth A Thimmaiah, Chairman, KSPCB, said, “Disposal of e-waste, if not done properly, can be hazardous to the environment and health. While thousands of tonnes of waste is generated annually, many authorised recyclers and dismantlers say their vast plants remain woefully underused.” 

“Apart from requesting bulk generators to ‘voluntarily’ give information about the type of e-waste being generated, we aim to instill a sense of responsibility amongst the consumers as well. With this initiative, our aim is to not only spread awareness about the importance of proper e-waste management but also do our duty towards building a safer and cleaner environment,” he said. 

According to the MEITY Annual Report 2020-2021, in 2019, India generated 3.2 million tonnes of e-waste of which only 10% was formally collected and recycled.