Berhampur: At a time when the alarming rise of e-waste has constantly been a cause of concern, skilled professionals of ITI, Berhampur are working on a robot using e-waste materials. The objective is to share a concern among others and draw the attention of the world community to this serious issue.
On occasion of World Environment Day, students and teachers of Electrician and Instrument Mechanic departments of the institution are working on a 29 ft tall installation. Informing about the sculpture, principal, ITI, Rajat Kumar Panigrahi said, “The sculpture is taking the shape of a robot. There is an installation erected using e-waste materials in Bhubaneswar. That is 16 ft high. Our installation is going to be the tallest one in the world.”
“The work on the installation started a month ago. This has been close to the students’ and teachers’ hearts. They are relentlessly working on it. About 3 tons of e-waste materials are used in this installation. Most of the materials are discarded computers, mobile phones, CD players, TVs, VCRs etc collected from Berhampur city,” he added.
The installation installed at e-scrape park looks like a gigantic robot. It has been erected to make it the tallest e-waste statue in the world and make its way to Guinness World Records. If we have to get rid of e-waste pollution, upcycling of scraps and waste electronic materials is the only way. And our robot will send out this message across the globe,” he further added.
As per the Waste Management Rules, 2016, the e-waste should be scientifically stored and dismantled as they will otherwise give rise to more serious environmental hazards. In 2019, the world generated 53.6 Mt of e-waste, an average of 7.3 Kg per capita. It is projected that the total volume of e-waste generated in the world will have reached 74.7 Mt by 2030.
According to the team members, the tallest robot will create awareness about e-waste management among people, particularly among those serious about the environment.
Notably, Berhampur ITI team has already set up a park of sculptures built using e-waste materials, and, amongst such parks, it is the largest one in Asia. It has already found a place in the Asia Book of Records.
PNN