The unit will be first of its kind in the country and the second in South East Asia, to where India now supplies its e-waste for recovery of precious metals.

The core committee under the chairmanship of the state Environment Secretary along with members of Solid Waste Management (SWM) cell of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB), decided that a techno-economic feasibility study should be carried out for full-fledged processing of e-waste generated in the region. “The committee decided that a techno-economic feasibility study should be initiated. The concept is to have a comprehensive process to recover precious as well as non-precious metals safely,” said Ashwini Bhide, Joint Metropolitan Commissioner, MMRDA. The processing unit will be located in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region.

According to SWM cell’s principal adviser M R Shah, the plant will be an integrated one. “The plant we’ve envisaged will have collection points, transportation, storage and comprehensive and safe treatment so as to ensure there is no environmental degradation. The role of the unit’s operator will also be defined,” Shah said.

Being the financial nerve-centre of India, Mumbai is home to a large user and manufacturer base of electronic goods. The generation of e-waste has grown manifold owing to the info-tech parks in Mumbai.

Ashwini Bhide said since there is hardly any attention paid to the management of e-waste, there is therefore an urgent need to have a well-orchestrated mechanism on the collection, treatment and disposal of e-waste.