E-waste in Africa on the rise How can it benefit criminals?
A huge garbage dump in Ghana’s capital is so polluted that it’s hard to breathe the closer you get. The cause is a group of dozens of men burning electronic waste to extract valuable metals.
Air pollution levels near a garbage dump in Ghana’s capital Accra are so high that it’s hard to breathe and blurry vision as you get closer to the fumes.
The smoke was caused by dozens of men waiting for tractors to empty the cables and set them on fire. Some climbed up the mound of trash and brought down electronic waste such as TVs, computers and washing machines to burn to extract the valuable metals.
These precious metals that are extracted, such as copper and gold, are found in electrical appliances and electronic devices, or e-waste, which comes from wealthy countries.
The resulting smoke has an impact on people living in the surrounding areas. “Sometimes it’s very difficult to breathe,” said Habiba Alhassan, a mother of four who works near the waste incinerator where used plastic bottles are sorted. “I feel a tightness in my chest and feel very unwell.”
In recent years, e-waste has become the fastest growing waste in the world. According to a report from the United Nations, e-waste will amount to 62 million tons in 2022, an 82% increase from 2010. As society increasingly uses electricity, e-waste has also increased.
The most frequently seized waste
The United Nations says only 15% of the world’s e-waste is recycled, with the remaining 85% often disposed of in other ways or through middlemen who often transport the waste out of the country.
The reason why so little e-waste is recycled is because it is difficult to recycle, has a complex composition and contains toxic chemicals. UN investigators say they have seen a significant increase in the trade in e-waste from developed and emerging economies, while the World Customs Organisation has found that e-waste is now the most frequently seized item, accounting for one in six seizures of all types of waste worldwide.
E-waste disposal becomes more sophisticated
In the UK, there has been a rise in the amount of e-waste being sold illegally. A spokesperson for the UK Environment Agency said: “This waste is broken down to extract valuable metals and then illegally incinerated after reaching its destination.”
Today’s e-waste smugglers try to cover it up by grinding and mixing it with other forms of plastic that can be legally exported abroad, and e-waste is now increasingly spreading to African countries.
UN investigators say smugglers of such toxic waste often employ new tactics to evade detection by authorities and governments, and those involved say they can’t keep up.
“When ships carrying hazardous waste such as e-waste cannot easily transport them to their usual destinations, they turn off their signals at sea to avoid detection,”
“And the illegal shipments end up being dumped into the ocean, which is part of the business model used by criminal groups.”
“There are too many criminal groups that are committing these kinds of crimes, and too many countries are profiting from the actions of these global criminal organizations,”
Chemicals of concern
A recent report by the World Health Organization stated that plastics and metals in waste, when burned or discarded, can be harmful to human health and have a detrimental impact on the environment. It also found that many countries receiving such waste still have improper recycling processes for e-waste, meaning that those involved are not trained, women and children work without proper protective equipment and facilities, and are exposed to toxic substances such as lead.
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