Although only the e-waste is much lower than other countries in the world, Africa has become a huge electronic cemetery of Western countries.
A close look at Western "cemetery" of e-waste in Africa
Millions of tons of electronic waste are illegally exported to Africa, creating huge and extremely polluted electronic "graveyards."In the picture is part of the electronic dumpsite Agbogbloshie in Accra, the capital of Ghana.
Electronic "mountains" of garbage make the surrounding water seriously polluted, affecting the lives and health of people and workers who rely on waste products to earn money.
Broken TVs, computers and keyboards are delivered to West African countries like Ghana because recycling in these countries is often cheaper than in European countries.
41 million tons of more than 34 billion pounds of e-waste has been discarded globally in 2014, according to a UN University report.Among them, only 6 million tons are properly recycled.
Young men select components that can be used from the mountain of waste in the hope of selling for money.
The export of e-waste or non-usable equipment to Africa is illegal under the Basel agreement.
Waste dealers often seek to transfer electronic items to Africa by labeling "reusable".
However, in fact, these types of waste are often not reusable.
The damaged old refrigerators located at the Agbogbloshie dump often contain chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), chemicals that puncture the ozone layer.
People focus on burning waste products to get all kinds of rubble to sell for money.
Citizens of Accra often block trucks carrying waste to purchase without having to check too closely.After that, they will resell the acquired products in the city's marketplaces.
West African countries like Ghana are flooded with electronic waste.
Although the amount of e-waste that Ghana discharges is far less than that of the UK, it still becomes one of the largest electronic waste cemeteries in the world.
Even old wire sections are transferred to landfills like Agbogbloshie because transporting garbage to Africa is even cheaper than recycling in European countries.
Huge landfills - the main cause of people's health is seriously affected.
Especially when people are exposed to electronic waste without any masks or protective clothing.
"Graveyard" Western e-waste in Ghana Africa
