BAN seeks to curb e-waste export to developing countries

BAN is the Basel Action Network

The Basel Action Network, an American watchdog group that has sought to curb the export of toxic electronic waste from the United States, plans to begin a new certification and auditing program on Thursday for both recyclers and companies that generate electronic refuse.

UK e-waste illegally dumped in Ghana

One of the UK's leading waste and recycling companies has been linked to the growing underground trade in e-waste after campaigners uncovered evidence that broken television sets deposited at the firm's facilities were exported to Africa in contravention of regulations designed to stem the flow of electronic waste to developing countries, the Ecologist can reveal

The trial had begun on October 24 2011 in relation to the Environment Agency’s largest ever investigation into alleged illegal exports of waste electrical and electronic equipment from the UK to Nigeria.

Seven defendants – four individuals and three companies – are scheduled to appear at Basildon Crown Court in Essex in a case being heard by His Honour Judge Black. A further seven defendants – five individuals and two companies – are being tried separately in relation to the same investigation once the first trial has concluded.

Two court hearings have already been held in the lead-up to today’s trial, during which it emerged that the defendants were facing charges relating to 11 containers of hazardous waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) being exported to Nigeria, containing a total of 158 tonnes of material.

The charges have been brought under the Transfrontier Shipment of Waste Shipment Regulation 2006, which restricts the shipment of waste materials to non-OECD countries.

It's Law

Recycling e-waste is not only good for the environment, it’s mandated by law.

“If you own it it’s your responsibility to bring it to a recycling facility,” said Andrew Hughan, spokesman for the California Integrated Waste Management Board. “If it’s got a cord you can’t throw it in the trash.”

Data left on old computers is a boon for scam artists 


Old computers and mobile phones that people have thrown away to be re-used or recycled are often not thought of again by their owners, but in fact they still may have very sensitive personal data on them that can often be worth a lot more to criminals than the recyclable materials contained in the device. On Thursday, the European Data Protection Supervisor, Peter Hustinx, warned that the European Commission’s current proposal to recast an old directive on e-waste – the WEEE directive, for ‘waste electrical and electronic equipment’ – was focussing only on the environmental considerations of junking old equipment, and had entirely forgotten about the threat to data left on laptops and PCs by their original owners.

E-waste is still an emerging trend in India


Only about 5% to 10% of the over 330,000 tonnes of e-waste generated in India gets processed in the organised sector. Kabadiwallas handle the rest in the informal sector but have the advantage of having a more door step presence and often a relationship with the clients. In their first year of operations, Eco Reco handled 1,300 tonnes of e-waste. That was 18% of their installed capacity of 7,200 tonnes.

What is E-Waste

What is E-Waste

E-waste includes electronic products which are at the end of their useful life. E-waste includes cell phones, computers, televisions and other consumer electronics. There are several items in E-waste which can be recycled. The quantity of E-waste around the world is skyrocketing, as the amount of E-waste increases every year. According to a survey, the amount of E-waste generated each year is about 20 to 50 tons.

A video about E-Waste 


The people from Good Magazine put together a nice animation on E-waste and how it affects the world
click on the following link to watch it :


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sl2j83LCHss

A video on E-Waste


The people from Good Magazine put together a nice animation on E-waste and how it affects the world
click on the following website to watch it


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sl2j83LCHss

HEY !!!!!


sorry for not updating the blog for a long time.


Hong Kong generating 70,000 tones of E-Waste annually



Hong Kong generates around 70,000 tonnes of WEEE each year and the volume has been increasing at a rate of 2% annually in recent years. WEEE contains hazardous substances that are harmful to the environment and human 

health if not properly treated or disposed of, therefore they must be handled with care. Mr Yau said the Government issued a consultation document on January 18 to solicit public views on introducing a mandatory producer responsibility scheme (PRS) for the proper management of WEEE.