Electronic garbage - a threat to people

Rubbish piles created by broken computers and mobile phones will soon pose risks to the environment and the health of people in developing countries.

A boy in Ghana burned broken computers for metal.Electronic waste burning activities create many types of toxic fumes to human health.Photo: greenpeace.org .

According to AFP, the United Nations has just released a report on the "Recycling - from E-Waste to Resources" electronic garbage situation on February 22, right before the meeting of the Executive Program United Nations school. The report predicts the number of electronic products sold in countries such as India, China or continents such as Africa and Latin America will increase rapidly in the next 10 years.

UN scientists have gathered data from 11 developing countries to predict the rate of discharge of electronic waste - such as computers, printers, mobile phones, refrigerators, music players , television, toys, pagers, digital cameras - in the present and in the future.

By 2020, the amount of discarded computers in South Africa and China will increase by 200-400% from 2007 levels. In India, the increase in the same period is 500%. The amount of trash from broken mobile phones will also increase 7 times in China and 18 times in India by 2020.

'This report shows that we need to set up ambitious, formal goals to capture and manage e-waste by building large and efficient waste treatment centers in China. But China is not the only country facing e-waste hazards. India, Brazil, Mexico and many other countries will also face many environmental and health problems if the government is not interested in recycling electronic waste, ' Achim Steiner, executive director of the Environment Program. United Nations school, speaking.

Steiner said recycling e-waste in developing countries will create jobs, reduce harmful emissions and recover many precious metals such as silver, gold, copper and indium.

'By acting now and planning for the future, many countries can face challenges from electronic waste into economic opportunities,' Steiner said.

According to the report, China currently generates about 2.3 million tons of electronic waste - ranked second in the world after the US with about 3 million tons. China is also one of the e-waste disposal sites of developed countries despite the ban on the import of such waste. Most electronic waste is burned by people to obtain precious metals. Burning garbage creates a variety of toxic fumes.

The report also found that:

Global e-waste increases by 40 million tons per year.

Production of mobile phones and computers is about 3% of gold and silver, 13% of palladium and 15% of the amount of cobalt that people exploit every year worldwide.

More than 1 billion mobile phones were sold worldwide in 2007. This number was 896 million in 2006.