United States Trying to Figure Out: Who Suffers When Our Toxic E-Waste Leaves The Country?
April 30, 2011 Kyriaki (Sandy) Venetis 
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.