E-waste report warns of hazardous mountains of discarded cellphones and computers
Unless developing countries act quickly, they will be inundated with overwhelming hazardous e-waste mountains of old cellphones, computers and gadgets that endanger the environment. The study, released by the U.N. Environment Program, says that most e-waste in China, for example, is improperly handled, with backyard incinerators used to recycle and recover valuable metals like gold.
Here are some of the findings from the study: In South Africa and China, by 2020 e-waste from old computers will have jumped by 200 to 400% from 2007 levels, and by 500% in India. By that same year in China, e-waste from discarded mobile phones will be about 7 times higher than 2007 levels and, in India, 18 times higher. By 2020, e-waste from televisions will be 1.5 to 2 times higher in China and India while in India e-waste from discarded refrigerators will double or triple. China already produces about 2.3 million tons domestically, second only to the United States with about 3 million tons. And, despite having banned e-waste imports, China remains a major e-waste dumping ground for developed countries.
