United States Trying to Figure Out: Who Suffers When Our Toxic E-Waste Leaves The Country?

Workers in China taking apart e-waste to recover precious metals. Stock photo.

Like most people who don’t think about their trash once it’s out the door, U.S. officials have done the same thing when it comes to being aware of what happens to electronic waste (computers, televisions, cell phones, etc.)  when it leaves the country.

To get a better scope of the problem, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has just awarded a $2.5 million grant to the United Nation’s Institute of Sustainability and Peace to help authorities track electronic waste shipments leaving the country.

Currently, there’s a lack of basic information on shipments of electronics from the U.S. to other countries. It’s hoped that the new funding will help authorities get more information about where the waste is going; who’s getting it; and the quantities that they are getting.

The grant will also give support to nations in both Africa and Asia that are coping with often illegal imports. Tons of electronics are shipped everyday from the U.S. to developing countries that are both incapable of rejecting the imports and can’t properly handle the materials.

Even in instances where materials are sent to countries where legitimate processing facilities exist, the EPA says that “mishandling still occurs and can negatively impact people and communities.”  In these cases, the electronics are usually taken to informal collection sites or to individual homes, where they are taken apart by hand to remove precious metals, such as gold, silver, and copper.

The workers doing these jobs are exposed to high levels of toxic substances, including mercury, lead, arsenic, and cadmium.  Heavy continual exposure to these substances can often lead to health issues, such as cancers, neurological damage, miscarriages, and diminished IQs, according to the EPA. Environmental pollution from electronic waste is also another big concern.

The United Nations’ study Recycling – From E-Waste to Resources makes some frightening predictions about how much developing countries can expect to receive in electronic waste in the next decade if international policies and security measures are not improved. In India, for instances, the report predicts that electronic waste from old computers will jump by 500 percent by 2020.

The report also recommends that countries establish e-waste management centers and build on existing organizations that already work in recycling and waste management.

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