Electronic Waste Contamination Conundrum Uncovered
Wednesday, May 1, 2019 - 13:21:25
The problem of e-waste is a global one with a number of unexpected ramifications, and a new story emerging in Ghana reveals the hidden costs associated with failing to recycle electronic devices.
The Guardian reports that the food supply on which tens of thousands of people rely is being contaminated as a direct result of the dumping of old gadgets and appliances nearby.
Specifically, it is the chicken eggs laid by birds local to the Agbogbloshie site at which waste is left that have been found to contain hazardously high levels of various chemicals that are harmful to humans and animals alike if consumed.
The birds are free to range around and end up foraging from the local flora and fauna, which have been contaminated by the substances oozing out of the trashed technology littering the dump.
Furthermore, a lot of the people living nearby are entirely reliant on the site itself to make a living, since they are able to salvage scrap metal and other materials from the discarded e-waste and resell it to scrape by.
This creates a serious conundrum, because while the dump is integral to the local economy, it is also slowly poisoning people who live and work in its vicinity.
Much of the electronic waste which ends up at this and many other dump sites across the developing world has been exported from western nations like the UK after the technology has been rendered obsolete by an upgrade.
For mobile phone owners, this story should prove instructive and an indicator of how important it is to sell old smartphones so that they can be refurbished or recycled properly rather than allowing them to be dumped in a way that will inevitably lead to environmental damage as well as health issues.
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