Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL) has taken a big step on the path of ensuring environmental sustainability and hygiene at the workplaces by initiating a special cleanliness campaign that will help to collect and dispose of e-waste in its areas of operations within Dhanbad. The project is included in the national Special Campaign 5.0, which is conducted according to the instructions of the Government of India to scientifically manage the electronic waste and keep the public sector institutions clean.
The campaign was initiated involving active involvement of the senior officials, employees, and staff in different areas of BCCL, Western Jharia, Eastern Jharia, Bastacola, Katras, and Sijua. At the drive, outdated and non-functional electronic products, including computers, printers and cables, were detected and stored to be disposed of appropriately. The initial phase involved the collection of 54 e-waste items in the Western Jharia region in various departments.
The Electronic Data Processing (EDP) centre officials in Sijua were also instrumental in isolating and tracking outdated equipment so that all materials were catalogued prior to being recycled by the appropriate recycling agencies. A Swachhata Hi Seva event was also conducted in the Katras area at its HWMC facility, wherein employees united their hands together to clean up the facility and committed their efforts to ensure that cleaning up is a routine behaviour at the workplace.
Talking about the initiative, the representatives of BCCL made it clear that the initiative does not only seek to clear the old electronic junk but also to create awareness of the environmental risk posed by e-waste. When these materials are disposed of improperly, they may cause contamination of soil and water by their toxic elements, such as lead, mercury, and cadmium. The campaign would promote a scientific method of waste disposal whereby dangerous materials are properly handled and precious metals recycled.
The e-waste collection initiative also supports the vision by the Government of India in the creation of a cleaner, greener and more sustainable ecosystem as part of Special Campaign 5.0, which aims at cleanliness, reduction of wastes, and online management of records of ministries and units of the public sector.
These are positive steps of BCCL in trying to manage the waste in a responsible manner at Dhanbad in the coal industry. The company will also be doing such initiatives on a periodic basis to ensure that there is a maintenance of hygienic workplaces and environmental conservation. Combining cleanliness motivation and sustainability aims, BCCL can be viewed as an example of other industries to adopt the principles of swachhata and circular economy.
