America ships electronic waste overseas

[truthpusher]

Source: AP

SAN FRANCISCO—Most Americans think they're helping the earth when they recycle their old computers, televisions and cell phones. But chances are they're contributing to a global trade in electronic trash that endangers workers and pollutes the environment overseas.

While there are no precise figures, activists estimate that 50 to 80 percent of the 300,000 to 400,000 tons of electronics collected for recycling in the U.S. each year ends up overseas. Workers in countries such as China, India and Nigeria then use hammers, gas burners and their bare hands to extract metals, glass and other recyclables, exposing themselves and the environment to a cocktail of toxic chemicals.

"It is being recycled, but it's being recycled in the most horrific way you can imagine," said Jim Puckett of the Basel Action Network, the Seattle-based environmental group that tipped off Hong Kong authorities. "We're preserving our own environment, but contaminating the rest of the world."

The gear most likely to be shipped abroad is collected at free recycling drives, often held each April around Earth Day, recycling industry officials say. The sponsors—chiefly companies, schools, cities and counties—often hire the cheapest firms and do not ask enough questions about what becomes of the discarded equipment, the officials say.



Read more: http://www.elpasotimes.com/nationworld/ci_7499681

[Deja Q]

1. Instead of making $100 laptops and patting themselves on the back, why not

use the existing equipment in these regions instead of summarily trashing the area? That way, there won't be any $100 carcases littering up the places when the day is done too.

[Turbineguy]

2. We have been for years

They used to de-solder the components from boards and re-use them.

We used to ship paper to asia for recycling. On my vessel (in 1989) we had a container break open and spill bales of unshredded bank records. Names, addresses account numbers and SSN's. It's all at the bottom of the sea now.

[5X]

3. Working in the computer repair business at least gives me some

satisfaction, knowing I am keeping a small measure of computers out of
the landfill. I tell my customers too, that it is always best to repair
if possible, but get lots that argue with me: "I can buy a new one for
2 or 3 hundred dollars, why fix it?".

The walmart mentality at work.

[Up2Late]

4. I heard about this last week on Public Radio, some of the Lead in the toys come from these...

...computers we send to Recyclers, which then ships them to China to be disassembled by Chinese Peasants making a few cents an hour.

They said The United States is the ONLY industrialized country in the world that has yet to sign the Treaty that bans this practice.

I think it was "Marketplace" that reported that.

Gosh I so proud of that.:sarcasm: :-(

This is another "No Duh" quote, "We're preserving our own environment, but contaminating the rest of the world."

Yeah, no kidding, except that it's SO much bigger than just this, because "...preserving our own environment, but contaminating the rest of the world...." is exactly what all the Manufacturing Outsourcing is doing too. That's one of the reasons China is belching out so much CO2, if we still manufactured all that stuff that's made in China now, it would be us who was producing all that CO2.

[Psephos]

5. Meanwhile, Canada ships municipal waste to Michigan

Lots.

http://www.senate.gov/~levin/issues/index4.cfm?MainIssue=Environment&SubIssue=CanadianWaste

Let's keep a global perspective.

[treasurefish]

6. Sounds fair to me

China takes our toxic scrap, turns the lead solder into paint, and sends it right back for our kids to chew on. Fantastic!

We need manufacturers to design their products with a cradle to grave mindset. Dell, Microsoft, IBM, Apple, etc. must be forced to accept their used products back for recycling. If they did, I guarantee they would figure out a better way to design either the product or the recycling process to make it more efficient, safer, and environmentally-friendly. Right now, there is no incentive for them to even think about it.

A real "TRAGEDY OF THE COMMONS" (environmental term for you non-tree huggers out there)!!

[flashl]

7. Electronics "Recycling" in the Federal Prison System

CAPTIVE PRISON LABOR EXPOSED TO TOXIC CHEMICALS

Imagine wondering if your nagging cough, cuts that won’t heal and strange rashes have something to do with the work you are forced to do in a federal prison. Everyday U.S. prison inmates smash computer monitors without adequate protection from the glass or a respirator to keep the toxic dust from their lungs. A growing number of prison inmates and guards are expressing fears for their health and safety in electronics recycling factories run by UNICOR, also known as the "Federal Prison Industries." UNICOR is a controversial business venture: a government corporation operated under the Department of Justice that uses captive prison labor in a range of industries, including the manufacturing of furniture, textiles and dismantling e-waste.

Read Entire Story

[Thothmes]

8. Really don't see anything new here

We and other western nations have been sending dangerous materials for years to other countries for recycling. A good example is the booming business done in scraping ships on the west coast of India. Asbestos, PCBs , lead paints all handled in Indian scrapping operations without benefit of face masks, hard hats or safety shoes for the workers.