BBC Uncovers E-Waste Laws ‘Turned Toxic’
by Katherine J. Chen
Published on March 18th, 2010
4 Comments
A boy winces at the smoke rising from the computer motherboards being melted over open fires in a recycling yard in Delhi. Flickr/Greenpeace India
“Inside Out,” a regional television series broadcast on BBC One, recently revealed the price developing countries have to pay for electronic waste, better known as e-waste.
E-waste gained exposure in the United States when Dell announced last year that the company would no longer export e-waste to other countries, a commitment that inspired HP to follow suit shortly afterward.
Last month, Environmental Leader reported that HP would no longer allow exports of flawed or damaged electronics to ship from countries in the European Union or Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development to non-EU/OECD nations.
The exposé conducted on “Inside Out,” however, shocked viewers and environmental groups around the world, as it revealed the long-distance implications of e-waste shipped to Ghana, one of the most impoverished countries on Earth.
The news show offered a candid view into the horrors of e-waste, explaining that criminals who want to avoid paying for legal methods of disposal in the U.K. decide to save money by then shipping discarded television sets and DVD players to Africa, where they are abandoned in uninhabited slums. The waste, which is “dumped as far as the eye can see” comes from a country that maintains a rigorous standard for recycling.
The e-waste found in Ghana could be sourced to London banks, hospitals, a police force and community councils. What was once a law which banned the exportation of e-waste has, according to the BBC show, “turned toxic” from a disturbing pattern of criminal smuggling.
While most responsible companies will track the movement of discarded electronics through the entire recycling system, others such as EarthECycle, a company that formerly conducted free electronics recycling programs for charity organizations, have lied about where their e-waste has gone.
Read more
EPA Launches E-cycling Fraud Investigation
Dell Bans E-Waste Exports to Developing Nations
Video: Ghana a Literal ‘Digital Dumping Ground’
- Environmental Leader(02/15/2010). HP Bans E-Waste Exports From Rich Nations to Developing Ones http://www.environmentalleader.com/2010/02/15/hp-bans-e-waste-exports-from-rich-nations-to-developing-ones/.
- Jaymi Heimbuch. Treehugger(02/16/2010). HP Follows Dell\'s Lead, Bans e-Waste Exports http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/02/hp-follows-dells-lead-bans-ewaste-exports.php.
- Jaymi Heimbuch. Treehugger(05/26/2009). BAN Uncovers e-Cycler Lying, Sending e-Waste Overseas http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/05/ban-uncovers-e-cycler-lying-sending-e-waste-overseas.php.
- Jaymi Heimbuch. Treehugger(03/10/2010). BBC\'s Inside Out Airs Exposé on the Impacts of UK\'s e-Waste on Developing Countries http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/03/bbcs-inside-out-airs-expose-on-the-impacts-of-uks-e-waste-on-developing-nations.php.
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posted on March 18th, 2010 at 1:37 am
[...] BBC Uncovers E-Waste Laws 'Turned Toxic' – Earth911.com [...]
Ronald Kobler
posted on March 18th, 2010 at 7:44 am
Dear All – Nicely written article with no fluff or inaccuracies. We are the sole domestic recycler of these plastic in the US. We convert these plastics from TVs, monitors, computers, printers, and copiers into plastics molding compound from which just about anything plastic can be made. If anyone needs details on how this happens, where plastics go, and the e-waste market, we would be happy to discuss this at anytime. We are not a consultant, just happy to share information.
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posted on March 19th, 2010 at 3:58 am
[...] BBC Uncovers E-Waste Laws 'Turned Toxic' – Earth911.com [...]
Robin Ingenthron
posted on May 11th, 2010 at 5:55 am
Katherine, you are a talented writer. But you are re-writing BAN.org press releases without actually studying the used equipment trade. I would like to invite you to find a source for BAN’s oft-repeated statistic that 80% of developed world “e-waste” is exported and that 75% of what is exported is waste. I have been in the field as a regulator, non-profit activist, and electronics recycling business, and I do get angry when recyclers lowball our prices by shipping junk as “toxics along for the ride”. But as a former Peace Corps volunteer, I maintain that the solution cannot be to leave Africa disconnected from the web, and will not be new computers for Africans. What if – what if – what if most of the exports to Africa actually are being reused? Search WR3A in youtube for actual film of actual operations in Africa. Are you really sure that people are paying $5000 sea shipping for 75% junk? Look at Greenpeace’s own video on youtube of “ewaste” in Ghana. I see nice looking TVs coming out of the sea container. Try to cover both sides of the story in you blogs ahead, and we may get closer to the truth.