Partnering with GIZ to further e‑waste awareness

The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.”

― Confucius

We are very proud of RLG’s partnership with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, a German enterprise working for sustainable economic, ecological, and social development around the globe. Through this partnership we are bringing private and public sector expertise to achieve better e‑waste management in India. GIZ is a federal enterprise that provides tailor-made solutions to companies, and has been working around the globe for more than 50 years as a competent strategic partner. It has also been working in India to address some of the most important social, economic and environmental challenges. As a service provider in the field of international cooperation for sustainable development and international education work, GIZ is dedicated to shaping a future worth living, around the world.

As the problem of e‑waste continues to grow, India needs focused efforts to get all stakeholders on board to develop a viable and sustainable solution. Currently the country ranks third globally, with 3.2 million tones of e‑waste production every year, just after China and the US[1]. RLG has been working hard since 2018 to generate awareness in the country regarding formal e‑waste management, and has managed to streamline the different service providers that had been scattered so far which was making their efforts ineffective.

Committed to creating a bright future together, RLG India and GIZ India launched the joint e‑waste management initiative “E‑Safai” on November 10, 2020. Dr. Dharmendra Kumar Gupta, Scientist ‘F’, Senior Director, Hazardous Substances Management (HSM) Division, Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, Dr. Sandip Chatterjee, Director and Scientist F, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY) and Dr. BMS Reddy, Senior Environmental Engineer, Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) delivered special addresses during the launch event.

The landmark project will be implemented for three years and will create awareness about safe and sustainable management of e‑waste. The project will involve Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs), educational institutions, retailers and bulk consumers and will also focus on the inclusion of the informal sector in formal e‑waste management value chains through a series of specifically targeted online and on-ground campaigns in selected cities beginning with Delhi and Hyderabad.

The powerful and strategic alliance will see RLG India and GIZ India helping in the establishment of ninety e‑waste bins, 4 collection centers (two each in Delhi and Hyderabad) as well as two recycling plants. The tie-up is expected to generate an approximate 1,000+ employment opportunities and garner an audience outreach of 3 million people through its carefully architected e‑waste management agenda.

We believe that sustainable management of e‑waste needs to be a priority for the people of India and with RLG‘s underlying philosophy of ‘Return to Value’ we are steadily moving forward towards achieving our vision. The government has begun to enforce e‑waste management laws to address the growing e‑waste challenges in the country and the RLG-GIZ alliance has been actively involved in building up collaborations to spread the message of ‘Clean to Green’.

The road ahead may be full of hurdles but we are determined to sprint ahead and create a clean and green world where e‑waste is a manageable challenge.