Bhubaneswar: The civic body on Friday launched the e-waste awareness program for bulk consumers from its own office premises under the Clean e-Bhubaneswar Project.

With this, the headquarters of the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation became the first government office in the city to undergo such an awareness campaign. Experts have already started educating school students on the importance of e-waste and how one should contribute towards its scientific and systematic management.

"It is important to identify bulk e-waste generators. We have taken the step from our own office and will cover other private and government establishments in later. E-waste is hazardous and it needs to be processed scientifically," said mayor Ananta Narayan Jena.

The event was marked with the commencement of an e-waste collection drive on the BMC office premises on Friday. "The BMC plays a significant role in the collaborative model of the project that is bringing together government, private sector and academia to deliberate on e-waste management solutions for Bhubaneswar. The BMC wants to inspire other institutions and bulk consumers to come forward and take part in the Clean e-Bhubaneswar Project," said Jena.

Zonal deputy commissioner Subhranshu Mishra suggested gifting of new electronic gadgets or appliances in exchange of e-waste to incentivise better and efficient collection of e-waste across the city. He called for a scientific and meaningful integration of the informal sector in e-waste management.

Bhubaneswar generates nearly 2,700 tonnes of e-waste a year.