Business’ and individuals “donate” their broken computers to “kids in Africa” …because it is cheaper then disposing of them properly. (they also get a tax write-off) …The computers arrive to these schools …only to become toxic waste that the organizations are not equipped to discard of safely.
We export enough e-waste each year to fill 5126 shipping containers. If you stacked them up, they’d reach 8 miles high – higher than Mt Everest, or commercial flights.
Simply stated, we are solving our e-waste problem
by exporting it to poor countries around the globe.
In addition many electronics recyclers inside the US don’t actually recycle the electronics they collect. They can make more money by selling the old electronics to waste traders. These traders then send them to developing countries where health, safety, environmental laws, and citizens’ rights are very weak. Workers earn slave wages sifting trough the toxic rubble looking for salvageable goods.
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