With Global Exhibition Day and World Environment Day being celebrated internationally on 5th June 2019, Messe Frankfurt Trade Fairs India has announced an E-Waste Collection Drive at their headquarters in Mumbai with an aim to spread major awareness about the lesser known hazards of electronic waste generated in the city.
Mr Raj Manek, Executive Director and Board Member of Messe Frankfurt Asia Holding Ltd said: “Messe Frankfurt strongly believes in investing beyond business, for the larger good of the society and long-term social and economic development. With Global Exhibitions Day being celebrated together with World Environment Day this year, our objective was to channelize resources towards creating awareness that will help industries and individuals be more environmentally aware and conscious of their carbon footprints.”
E-waste has been a major threat to the environment with very little knowledge on how to manage it. Mumbai, in particular, tops the list of Indian Cities generating E-waste in the country. We produce 1.2 lakh metric tonnes of e-waste every year out of the India-wide annual total of 18.5 lakh metric tonnes. Most people have no idea of how to dispose their e-waste in an eco-friendly manner and end up selling it to scrap dealers or worse, dumping it in garbage bins from where it most likely ends up in landfills. The improper disposal of electronic scrap, which contains toxic metals, leads to air and water pollution, exposure to which can cause severe health problems.
As part of this initiative, the company will be collecting old, non-repairable and non-functional electronic waste material during the course of the entire week and ensure that the material is handed-over to authorised agencies in their mission to recycle and refurbish the electronic waste products.
Messe Frankfurt India, a 100% subsidiary of one of the largest event organisers in the world – marked its milestone year as it celebrated its 20th anniversary and with that, two decades of trusted trade partnerships through trade fairs and conferences in India. The company since inception, has been committed to supporting developments, contributing to economic growth and improving the quality of life for the communities where it operates. In the past the company has also used its exhibition platforms to support causes that endorse the skills of differently-abled people and provide direct business links to make them independent. Special training course with the specially-abled were carried for this initiative in the Sunder Nagri and Jaunti villages in India.
In addition, many of Indian subsidiary’s leading exhibitions and conferences constantly target areas such as energy efficiency, water management, waste management, recycling and eco-textiles. For instance, the company’s recently concluded exhibition, LED Expo in Mumbai, drew attention to the adoption of energy-efficient LED lights while the NGV India Summit in New Delhi drew attention to natural gas an alternate source of fuel against conventional polluting sources like petrol and diesel.
More recently, Messe Frankfurt India was involved in providing financial support towards providing mobility appliances like wheelchairs, calipers, prosthesis etc. to persons with disability. These appliances were fabricated in-house at NASEOH (National Society For Equal Opportunities For the Handicapped), thereby also providing the opportunity to those with physical impairment to be trained in fabrication, welding and assembly skills. The company distributed over 200 appliances through this initiative.
