E-waste disposal made easy by Keralite teacher in Sharjah

Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic that took the world by surprise, adults and children have started using new phones, tablets and laptops for doing their office work, attending online classes, etc.

Most of us usually throw away the old and used gizmos in our house in to the bin. But Nadiya Senal, a Malayali teacher from Indian International School, Sharjah is spreading awareness about the detrimental effects e-waste can have on our planet and the lives on it.

She is not only collecting the abandoned electronic wastes but has also initiated a wide awareness campaign in the name 'Greenplug eCycle UAE'.

This green campaign initially started in classrooms and schools has now been taken up by government institutions in UAE as well. Indian International School, Sharjah is the one providing her all the support and energy for moving ahead with the campaign, said Nadiya, a native of Ernakulam district, Kerala.

Only students and teachers had contributed to the campaign in the starting, bringing up old electronic wastes in their houses. Now since the campaign has turned out to be successful, people from different walk of life in the society are coming forward with e-wastes so that it is disposed of without harming the nature.

A few minutes of search in our rooms can lead us to the e-waste in the corner that ranges from damaged headsets, chargers, cables, speakers to sometimes even TVs and computers, etc. Where do we throw them away and what happens to these e-wastes? How do we dispose of it in a manner safe to the planet? The proper disposal of e-waste is an issue seldom given any attention by the people.

Because of the toxic chemicals present in the electronic items, e-waste thrown into nature poses 10 times more danger to nature than plastics. This is what prompted Nadiya to start an initiative against the careless disposal of such items. After collection, she categorizes each item and makes them easy for recycling purposes before sending it all to Sharjah's leading management company, Bee'ah.

Utmost care is given in handling of these wastes until it is sent off to the company for further processes. The wastes are handed over to the government-led company as Nadiya fears improper disposal of the wastes if given to anybody else. She has already handed over tons of e-wastes to Bee'ah by now.

To make collection and disposal of the wastes easier, a website in the name www.greenplug-ecycleuae.com has also been started. If e-wastes are hoarded in anyone's house they are free to contact through the website which will be then collected from the house by Nadiya and her team.