Electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) waste, or e-waste, is illegally brought into African states every year. A minimum of 250,000 metric tons of e-waste comes into the continent, and according to the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, the majority of it in West Africa enters from Europe.[1] Developed countries commodify underdeveloped African states as dumping grounds for their e-waste, and due to poor regulations and a lack of enforcement institutions, illegal dumping is promoted.[2] Currently, the largest e-waste dumping site in Africa is Agbogbloshie in Ghana.[2] While states like Nigeria do not contain e-waste sites as concentrated as Agbogbloshie, they do have several small sites.[2]
Two e-waste regulatory institutions exist in Africa: the Basel Convention and Bamako Convention.[3] Because the former institution perceives e-waste as hazardous, it seeks to circumvent adverse public health outcomes that derive from trading EEE. Informal dumping sites burn hazardous materials, subsequently exposing individuals to toxic fumes, contaminating crop production, etc.[3] In particular, Europe and the UK export e-waste into several African states often as donations or second-hand products.[3] African states themselves produce between ~50 and 85% of their e-waste with the rest being imported from developed nations.[3]
Economically, e-waste can carry high value materials which can lead to financial opportunity for some African states. E-waste materials sourced from Africa amounted to $3.2 billion US dollars in 2019, therefore making trading and repairing them economic pursuits for poorer individuals.[4] As such, global trade of e-waste lends itself to a business-like system in certain African states like Ghana.[4] Extracting raw materials like copper is frequently executed by untrained and informal workers that need protective gear and are near localities where children can be exposed.[4] Several economic, health, and political implications derive from the trade of these materials.
^ abcLebbie, Tamba S.; Moyebi, Omosehin D.; Asante, Kwadwo Ansong; Fobil, Julius; Brune-Drisse, Marie Noel; Suk, William A.; Sly, Peter D.; Gorman, Julia; Carpenter, David O. (January 2021). "E-Waste in Africa: A Serious Threat to the Health of Children". International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 18 (16): 8488. doi:10.3390/ijerph18168488. ISSN 1660-4601. PMC 8392572. PMID 34444234.
^ abcdMaes, Thomas; Preston-Whyte, Fiona (2022-02-05). "E-waste it wisely: lessons from Africa". SN Applied Sciences. 4 (3): 72. doi:10.1007/s42452-022-04962-9. ISSN 2523-3971. PMC 8817158. PMID 35155992.
^ abcLebbie, Tamba S.; Moyebi, Omosehin D.; Asante, Kwadwo Ansong; Fobil, Julius; Brune-Drisse, Marie Noel; Suk, William A.; Sly, Peter D.; Gorman, Julia; Carpenter, David O. (2021-08-11). "E-Waste in Africa: A Serious Threat to the Health of Children". International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 18 (16): 8488. doi:10.3390/ijerph18168488. ISSN 1661-7827. PMC 8392572. PMID 34444234.
and 29 Related for: Electronic waste in Africa information
and electronic equipment (EEE) waste, or e-waste, is illegally brought into African states every year. A minimum of 250,000 metric tons of e-waste comes...
Electronicwaste (or e-waste) describes discarded electrical or electronic devices. It is also commonly known as waste electrical and electronic equipment...
Electronicwaste is a significant part of today's global, post-consumer waste stream. Efforts are being made to recycle and reduce this waste. The Basel...
environmental dumping of electronicwaste (e-waste) from industrialized nations. The Basel Action Network, a small NGO based in Seattle, has referred to...
Electronicwaste or e-wastein the United States refers to electronic products that have reached the end of their operable lives, and the United States...
Electronicwaste recycling, electronics recycling, or e-waste recycling is the disassembly and separation of components and raw materials of waste electronics;...
World Bank Report What a Waste: A Global Review of Solid Waste Management, describes the amount of solid waste produced in a given country. Specifically...
December 2008 at the Wayback Machine. AfricaNews. 11 June 2008 Forests and deforestation inAfrica – the wasting of an immense resource Archived 20 May...
Waste management or waste disposal includes the processes and actions required to manage waste from its inception to its final disposal. This includes...
waste include radioactive waste, explosive waste, and electronicwaste. Radioactive waste, often referred to as nuclear waste, is produced by various industries...
a boom in both the sales of electronic devices and their growth as a waste stream: In 2002, e-waste grew faster than any other type of wastein the EU...
Waste management laws govern the transport, treatment, storage, and disposal of all manner of waste, including municipal solid waste, hazardous waste...
legislative initiative to solve the problem of huge amounts of toxic electronicwaste. In speech, RoHS is often spelled out, or pronounced[citation needed]...
Green waste, also known as "biological waste", is any organic waste that can be composted. It is most usually composed of refuse from gardens such as...
social enterprise is based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. It was founded with the aim to reduce electronicwaste (e-waste). It does this by offering users...
the waste from all traditional and electronic tobacco and cannabis products collected at 12 public high schools in Northern California. Councils in England...
road markings); electronic and electric equipment (e-waste); and pharmaceuticals and healthcare. The total amounts of plastic waste generated by these...
focused on issues of electronicwaste and the dismantling of ships. Increased trade in recyclable materials has led to an increase in a market for used products...
technology especially in ICT, low initial cost, and unplanned obsolescence of electrical and electronic equipment has led to an e-waste generation problem...
Food loss and waste is food that is not eaten. The causes of food waste or loss are numerous and occur throughout the food system, during production,...
rubbish each day. Waste from around 500 container ships is also delivered to the site, adding a substantial portion of electronicwaste. Some of this material...
Sorted waste containers in Tallinn, Estonia Sorted waste containers in Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok County, Hungary Recycling bin in Cape Town, South Africa Sorted...
Asset Management Data security Data erasure Computer Recycling ElectronicwasteElectronic devices Grossman, Elizabeth (2006). High Tech Trash- Digital...
Crime in South Africa includes all violent and non-violent crimes that take place in the country of South Africa, or otherwise within its jurisdiction...
Packaging waste, the part of the waste that consists of packaging and packaging material, is a major part of the total global waste, and the major part...
of filing maintenance and storage systems can prove to be costly in terms of wasted space and resources expended searching for records. An inactive record...
Below the Waste is Art of Noise's fourth full-length original album and their last album for China Records before Anne Dudley re-formed the group with...
An electronic cigarette is a handheld battery-powered vaporizer that simulates smoking, but without tobacco combustion. E-cigarette components include...