What are e-waste why are they creating more problems in a developing countries in comparison to developed countries?
Answers
WASHINGTON – A RISING mountain of hazardous electronic waste is putting workers in developing countries and the environment at risk. Some of the disused computers, cellphones, televisions and other products are locally generated, but the developed world – especially the U.S. – is responsible for sending many of the items.
The developed world has in the past exported an estimated 23 percent of its electronic waste to seven developing countries, according to a study published in June by the journal Environmental Science and Technology. The growing demand for electronics, and the increasingly short life spans of these devices, means e-waste isn’t going anywhere. But the problem is complex, and solutions will not come quickly – or easily.
The average American household owns more than 20 electronic products, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Several states have banned disposing of such products in the same way as conventional trash, and the EPA strongly encourages recycling. But when a person recycles a television, for instance, there's a chance it could end up exported to a country like China, India or Nigeria, where workers at informal recycling operations often use crude, hazardous techniques to extract valuable metals from the equipment and then burn what’s left.
[READ: U.N. Seeks to Solve Growing Global E-Waste Problem]