Since 2007, in Europe, there has been legislation to govern the practise of recycling electrical waste in the correct manner. This involves using machinery to recycle the equipment.
However there have been high profile stories in the media where electrical waste has been exported to developing countries for processing.
This is usually is performed at landfill dumps, where the waste is hand sorted and stripped of hazardous components in order to make the material recoverable.
Not only is this dangerous to the local environment but also to the people performing the work.
For example, within an old style television there are many hazardous components that would pollute the surrounding environment if not properly processed. The cathode ray tube that projects the image to the screen contains cadmium, a hazardous component that requires specialist treatment. But this is often processed by hand and the hazardous parts discarded into the landfill as they recover the valuable materials.
Often the remaining good elements of the waste will be burned to take away rubber and plastics to reveal precious metals. After all it is the precious metals in most cases that are desired from the processing. The fumes from burning the remaining waste are extremely hazardous when inhaled and released into the environment. Any run off of liquids created from the process then enter the local water system polluting it with extremely hazardous chemicals making it undrinkable. The risk to health and the environment is ignored as the need to make money from the procedure. The resulting copper and other metals will provide the processor a good financial return.
Second-hand technology has a limited life
Consideration must also be given to good working equipment that is being exported. What works today may not work tomorrow as you will be aware with technology. What happens when that working equipment becomes past it’s usable life? Will the equipment be handled in the correct manner without harm to the environment or risk human health.
Second life electrical donations do help people within developing countries, however just check with the company or charity that you donate to, what would happen to the equipment once it becomes redundant.
Hazardous electrical waste can be properly processed in the UK and Europe according to weee recycling initiatives, to recover the precious materials contained within. The hazardous components can be treated to remove the dangerous elements. There is no need to export electrical waste as it should be treated and recycled in the country of origin safely and without harming people or the environment
About Phil Gibbs
its a really frightening thought that such things like our technology should be sent abraod when they dont have the facilities for disposal. Maybe there should be charitable organizations or e waste companies set up in developing countries to collect their waste but it is an impossible task if the people are simply programmed to get the metals out of them etc etc. they are truly uneducated and unfortunately very desperate people. its all very sad and very worrying.
Yes it is hard Sue. I dont know what the answers are other than educating the people. They dont know about the toxins and dangers.. they only know that something is worth money sadly.
If charities are collecting and delivering old equipment to developing countries then they should also be responsible for their recycling or disposal of them at the end of their life. This could easily be achieved with good record keeping and algning themselves with responsible organizations that can deal with recycling effectively in the country where they are being donated to.
That would certainly be a more sustainable solution Jenson. Many charities have a long way to go when it comes to being sustainable sadly and they often only think about an immediate problem and solution instead of looking at a problem and solution in the long term.
I agree completely, that haz waste should be treated in the UK instead of exported out of the country.
Surely the carbon footprint of each item exported increases too.
Agreed Steve it makes absolutely no sense whatsoever to export waste. And yes it increases the carbon footprint too. On top of this Steve there is an increased possibility of waste pollution during transit. Sorry to be neg here but it wouldn’t surprise me one bit if tons of waste is dumped half way in the journey into the sea. We seem to be living in a world where waste is ok as long as it’s not in our own back yard.
We are getting lots more calls these days from individuals looking to export old TVs etc from our House and Office Clearances. Not a path I wish to look into really.
I can well imagine what a market they have for them all too Glenn. We can only hope that there are many reputable clearance companies who can make more income by dismantling and recycling old equipment properly.
Sadly I’m sure there are many clearance companies that are set up purposely to export useless stuff abroad. It’s all a lot like the useless old cars that are exported to India only to keep polluting the world more and more. And in India the people are being made very sick with all the thick air of carbon monoxide and co2. Terrible isnt it?