Greenpeace Exposes E-Waste Recycling Scandal

Another brave effort on the part of Greenpeace has revealed the fact that the United Kingdom is in contradiction with European norms, as far as disposing of e-waste goes. Activists from the group mounted a GPS tracking device in an old TV set, which they then took to a recycling site. The chip showed that the apparatus was taken all the way to Nigeria for processing, which was a violent contradiction of laws set forth by the European Union that said that such wastes needed to be handled within the Union itself.

Potentially hazardous waste material poses very significant health risks, especially to populations in underdeveloped countries that are uneducated and uninstructed in how to handle complicated pieces of technology and how to stay away from dangerous chemicals. Most modern appliances have one or more dangerous chemical compounds, which can severely affect both human health and the environment around the landfills they end up in.

“It's illegal to export broken electronic goods under EU legislation (and) at no point before it was crammed into a container with similar TVs and shipped off was the TV turned on or tested to see if it was in working condition,” a Greenpeace statement said.

“Greenpeace has been investigating the immoral and illegal e-waste dumping in developing countries since 2002. After China, India, Pakistan and Ghana, this is the story of how one very broken TV managed to avoid being tested and recycled according to EU regulations and instead ended up in Nigeria as 'second hand goods.' By taking out the toxic chemicals from the products and securing global recycling schemes, electronics manufacturers can ensure that countries like Nigeria do not end up with Europe's toxic e-waste,” its website added.

There has, thus far, been no official reaction to the scandal, and there probably won't even be one, as authorities will keep to themselves and try to cover everything up like they normally do. One thing is for sure – this practice is rampant, and the European Union continues to talk about respect for African countries, while at the same time polluting them with wasted electronics, which only kids disassemble in the poorest countries in the world.