Electronic waste (e-waste) is on the rise, as consumers discard older technology for the latest models. Much of this e-waste ends up in Third World countries. No matter where it ends up, the United Nations (UN) predicts e-waste to increase by 500% in the next decade and “poses a serious threat to health and the environment.” The Guardian reports:
Despite a number of conventions aimed at preventing the indiscriminate dumping of e-waste, the problem is snowballing, with billions of people now regularly using advanced electronics.
The problem is particularly acute in parts of west Africa, where ship-loads of e-waste are dumped on a daily basis and scavenged by children who break down the electronics to recover valuable metals that they can sell.
Image: Greenpeace
