Sauder Africa Initiative

Digital dumping grounds: Do you know where your electronic waste ends up?

With million tons of electronic waste produced every year, have you ever thought of where will all of the waste go? How will all of them get

Most of the” e-waste” that we produce in North America will eventually end up in three developing countries: Ghana, Indian, and China. According to a documentary, which won the 2010 Emmy for Best Investigative Magazine, the disposal of e-waste does not only create health and environmental issues, but also a concern towards security threats. Let us dive deeper into these issues.

Health and Environmental Issues:
After the e-waste arrives to their designations, they will be sent to smoldering wastelands that are filled with old computers and televisions. The workers on these wastelands are often children, whose job is to smash and burn the e-waste. After burning, the children will then collect the left behind coppers and irons for sale. Many of the children are forced to do this to scavenge a living.

In the burning process, tons of toxic substances are released because the boys sometimes have to mix old foams with the e-waste in order to melt away the plastic. Under these working conditions, the health of these boys is highly concerned. The amount of toxic chemicals released into the atmosphere has also drawn the attention of many environmental-friendly organizations.

Security Threats:

In some cases, if the electronics are working, the children will store them for future resale. However, because the owners of those old electronics are unknown, social security numbers and personal data of original owners may be recalled from the computers’ hard drives. Some people may take advantage of this to perform crimes and to use in scams.

Not only Ghana, but a lot of countries in Africa are also facing the same problem. In Kenya, the increased amount of e-waste without a proper disposal mechanism is proposing a serious threat to a country’s environment as well as giving rise to new diseases which will cost many lives. These all link to the one of the missions of the Sauder Africa Initiative that by sharing what we know, we hope that youths in Kenya will be able to earn a living by starting up their own businesses instead of having to work in an undesirable environment.