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The dangers of electronic waste

China is the premier destination for electronic waste, where millions of tonnes are “recycled” every year.

China e-waste gallery - e-waste
Electronic waste, according to Green Peace, makes up "five per cent of all municipal solid waste worldwide". It is estimated that between 20 and 50 million tonnes of e-waste are generated yearly [CC - takomabibelot]
Published On 25 Jan 2011
China e-waste gallery - China International High-Tech Expo
Chinese Greenpeace activists set up an e-waste sculpture at the China International High-tech exhibition in an effort to shame the companies attending the expo on May 23, 2005 in Beijing, China [Getty]
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China e-waste gallery: Greenpeace Activists Protest Against E-Waste
A Greenpeace activist is surrounded by security guards during a demonstration against e-waste outside the Hewlett Packard (HP) Beijing headquarters on December 7, 2005 in Beijing, China [Getty]
China e-waste gallery - Guiyu
China is estimated to receive over a million tonnes of e-waste every year, the majority of which goes to Guiyu, where tens of thousands of workers manage and "recycle" the waste [CC - Bert van Dijk]
Chinese e-waste gallery - Chinese worker sorts through wires and cables
A worker rummages through e-waste for the purpose of salvaging metals and other materials for resale in Guiyu. E-waste is often illegally exported here from developed countries [EPA]
China e-waste gallery - Chinese worker deconstructing a motherboard
A worker takes down an old computer main frame to recover usable things in an e-waste recycling factory in Laixi, eastern China. China receives approximately 70 per cent of all e-waste generated yearly [EPA]
Chinese e-waste gallery - Shanghai Saturday
Sorting electronic waste in an alley behind Guangfu Lu on an autumn Saturday in Shanghai, China [CC - Remko Tanis]
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China e-waste gallery - Indian recycling and grinding with child labour as well
India is one of the major hubs of the e-waste trade. According to a report from the Centre for Environmental Studies at Anna University in India, e-waste management in India suffers from "unhealthy conditions of informal recycling", among other criticisms [CC - Greenpeace India]
Chinese e-waste gallery - India Has Growing Problem Of Electronic Waste
Workers dismantle old computers and electronics at E-Parisara, an electronic waste recycling factory. India(***)s growing digital economy has contributed to the amount of e-waste it generates [Getty]
China e-waste gallery - Ghana burning e-waste
According to a Greenpeace report, tonnes of unusable electronics are shipped to Ghana and disposed of in scrap yards like this. Unprotected workers, often children, work in these hazardous conditions [EPA]