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UK govt and European e-waste illegally dumped in Africa
Old computers and other e-waste from British government departments have been discovered at dumpsites in African countries and in containers headed for the continent, according to the UK’s environment agency.
The chairman of the agency, Lord Smith, warned that the amount of illegally exported e-waste is rising and that in addition to health and environmental concerns, it is also a threat to British national security, due to the risk that sensitive information could still be stored in the computers’ hardware.
He said that waste from the UK, which includes computers, monitors, televisions and DVD players, is sent to countries in west Africa where valuable but toxic metals are removed by workers, many of whom are children.
–Telegraph
E-waste from local governments is also being illegally exported to African countries including Ghana and Nigeria. This can be the result of local authorities using unauthorized ‘recyclers’ or recycling firms cutting corners by simply shipping e-waste to developing countries rather than paying for more expensive recycling processes.
Illegal recycling is a problem that authorities are attempting to tackle across the EU, where on only a third of discarded electronic equipment is believed to be recycled according to European regulations. Rotterdam in the Netherlands is a major hub for the illegal export of electronic waste.
But even though the Dutch have led the way in cracking down on illegal e-waste exports – the European Union banned the trade in the mid-1990s – only 3% or so of the containers in Rotterdam are checked. In an average week one shipment may be caught, which could mean several containers holding 800 monitors each.
–BBC News
For more on the story, check out the following two articles:
Telegraph – Government computers illegally exported as waste
BBC News – Europe breaking electronic waste export ban
Additional resources:
Greenpeace – Where does e-waste end up?
Greenpeace – Illegal e-waste export to Nigeria tracked down
Following the e-waste trail – UK to Nigeria
Tags: Africa, British, computers, e-waste, Europe, European, government, Greenpeace, illegal, Nigeria, UK
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