Dispose of your e-waste, earn money too

Rajkot: Those old mobiles, chargers and laptops gathering dust at home won't remain junk anymore. While getting rid of the old gadgets and accessories, citizens can also rake in some moolah. The Rajkot Municipal Corporation (RMC) has launched a doorstep e-waste collection service to help citizens safely dispose of electronic waste while earning money in return. Under the initiative, RMC has partnered with an authorised e-waste collection agency to ensure the scientific and environmentally safe disposal of electronic items.Improper disposal of e-waste leads to serious pollution of land, water and air, and also poses risks to human health. To address this concern, the agency will collect unused electronic items directly from homes and offices and recycle them using approved methods, enabling valuable materials to be reused.Citizens will receive compensation for items such as air conditioners, washing machines, refrigerators, laptops, desktops, televisions, mobile phones and mixed e-waste. Payments range from Rs 2,000 for air conditioners to Rs 200 for mobile phones and televisions, while mixed e-waste will be purchased at Rs 15 per kg.RMC environment engineer Prajesh Solanki termed the initiative a win-win model. The agency will pay RMC Rs 1 lakh annually and also compensate citizens, while generating revenue from recycled scrap. The service was launched in Ward 13 on Friday and collected 13 kg of e-waste on the first day. Citizens can book pickups through RMC's toll-free number, after which a van will collect the e-waste from their doorstep.