VMC Launches Doorstep E-Waste Pickup With On-the-Spot Payment

Residents of Varanasi can now have their old and broken electronic goods picked up from their doorstep and get paid for them on the spot, under a new e-waste collection arrangement launched by the Varanasi Municipal Corporation.

The corporation has authorised the agency AdMyBinn to go from house to house collecting discarded electronic equipment. Pickups can be booked through a QR code or on the helpline number 8335955000, after which the agency's team comes to the home or office, collects the items and pays for them there and then.

Municipal Commissioner Himanshu Nagpal said the facility would not be limited to homes. Old electronic equipment will also be collected from private and government offices, schools and colleges, institutions, industries and bulk waste generators, he said.

The corporation also plans special awareness sessions and collection drives to tell people how e-waste should be disposed of safely.

Its appeal to residents is simple: do not throw old electronic goods into the regular garbage. Keep them aside and hand them only to the authorised agency so they can be disposed of and recycled safely.

According to the corporation's public relations officer, Sandeep Srivastava, the list of what can be handed over is long. It includes computers, laptops, monitors, mobile phones, tablets, printers and scanners; refrigerators, freezers, washing machines, dryers, air conditioners, geysers and microwaves; kitchen appliances; batteries and cells, chargers and cables; routers, switches, stabilisers, inverters and UPS units; and circuit boards. Home theatre and audio systems, and LED, LCD and old CRT televisions can also be given.

Srivastava explained the process in four stages. The resident first contacts the corporation through the helpline or the QR code. The corporation and the agency then fix a date and a convenient time for pickup. On that date, the AdMyBinn team reaches the address, collects the e-waste and pays a fair price for it on the spot. The collected material is then sent through authorised channels for scientific recycling.

He said the arrangement would keep the city cleaner and allow materials recovered from electronic goods to be reused.

Electronic goods contain hazardous substances such as lead, mercury and cadmium, which can leak into soil and water if the goods are dumped or broken apart carelessly. They also contain valuable metals such as copper and gold, which is why a formal channel can pay for them.

AdMyBinn has worked with the corporation before, on waste bins placed across the city. The e-waste tie-up gives it a different role, as the city's authorised collector for discarded electronics.

For residents, the practical point is the helpline. Anyone with an old phone, a dead inverter battery or a television gathering dust can call 8335955000 or scan the corporation's QR code to book a pickup.