How NOT To Handle E-Waste – Agbogbloshie

Not all IT hardware can be repaired or refurbished. Eventually all equipment needs to be disposed of and there are clear laws in the USA and Europe as to how E-waste is handled. But are these laws being properly enforced?

Agbogbloshie in Ghana, Africa, is one of the world’s biggest E-waste dumping grounds. Home to 50,000 people, the main employment is the dismantling, smashing and burning of tons of E-waste sent from the west. Children as young as five years old break up computer hardware in order to extract the raw materials of lead, copper and aluminum. Parts that cannot be re-used are simply dumped or added to one of the many fires that are continually burning across Agbogbloshie’s landscape.

The disposal and the ever present smoke from the fires present serious health problems for the adults and children working there. There are no environmental controls as carcinogens and other pollutants are released into the air. Organ damage, breathing problems, headaches and brain damage are all part of the job in Agbogbloshie’s toxic dump. 80% of the chidren have been found to have dangerous levels of lead in their bodies and high levels of other toxins have been found in the soil and food samples.

US and European laws are easily circumvented by exporters labeling their E-waste as “End of Life” or as “Second Hand Goods.” There is a thriving second hand computer market around the town, but it is estimated that up to 85% of what is sent to Agbogbloshie is not re-used and simply dumped or burned, with the resulting catastrophic health problems for the young workers. IT equipment from most all of the world’s major manufactuers can be found in Agbogbloshie including PC’s, monitors, circuit boards, scanners, printers and keyboards.

And Agbobbloshie is not the biggest or only toxic dump in the world. Guiyu in China is home to the biggest E-waste dump in the world. Tens of thousands of people work in the industry there and the United Nations has documented similar health problems with serious lead poisoning found in children as young as six!

Maybe it’s time for us to re-think what we do with our E-waste?