An old and redone-up bus called ewaste ambulance-cum-clinic. This innovation is termed as the first such step in the country towards making the city e-waste free over the next few months. This bus collects e-waste from  residential colonies and business districts of the city. So far, all this waste was going into the unorganised sector and polluting the environment. The collected waste would be scientifically treated by Rajasthan-based Green Tech, a Private company in Alwar. The BMC has set up a call center from where regulatory calls are being made to citizens to create awareness for waste disposal. The NGO is also proposing to issue Green Certificates to those who are bringing in the e-waste for disposal. On any given day more than 800-1000 such calls are made and E-waste collectors are dispatched to the homes for collection of electronic items which are junked by users: but they do not know how and where to throw them, said Datta, adding “With the e-ambulance moving in the city, more and more e-waste collection is happening as people know it now that these electronic and electric gadgets and spares are
not to be thrown and mixed with domestic and kitchen waste’. Ali says that more than 70-80 calls have started coming in from citizens who wish to see the mobile ewaste ambulance which also houses clinic and dumping box. The e-waste is also being purchased at different rates which is proving to be a cash incentive. A touch screen mobile is being bought for Rs.100 and a kilogram of electric bulbs is being bought for Rs .10 and so on. Bhopal, not an industrialised city like Pune or Bengaluru, however generates 432 MTs of e-waste per year with citizens mixing the items with regular domestic waste. Now there is a solution provided by Sarthak and BMC to the citizens. The unique ewaste clinic was inaugurated in Bhopal by Union Environment Secretary CK Mishra and CPCB Chief SPS Parihar in January 2020 end. Laptop accessories, printers, monitors, mouse, cables, disc cartridges, fridge, broken or old washing machines and its parts or LED bulbs are being increasingly dumped into these bins by citizen or being sent to the bus. Ali says soon Bhopal will have more e-waste clinics set up in different areas of the widespread  city for the convenience of people. There are 24 items listed under e-waste category
so far and their disposal plans have also been put in place.

Sarthak is an NGO active in the field of science and environment friendly EWaste Management for over 20 years, and actively working in 8 states across the country, like Karnataka, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra etc. and have been working in partnership with respective Government agencies, both at the Central and State levels.We have a strong social commitment and have organised the last-mile waste collectors (Rag-pickers- Sarthak Karmi) into a social group in order to enhance their standard of living, healthcare and education lobbying with Government agencies to provide them with health and life Insurance.

Such activities are part of our broader commitment towards the society at-large and we work in close co-operation with city administration (ULBs) in order to create a sense of waste management awareness at source i.e. making households understand the importance of the entire waste collection and disposal process. This enables the households to appreciate the importance of the Rag-pickers who ideally are a very important and respected unit of our society.