GLOBAL IMPACT

Many developed countries lack the infrastructure or motivation to properly recycle and dispose of electronic waste. As a result, they often send their waste to other countries who have informal (read: illegal) waste economies. These economies rarely have precautions in place to protect workers, and thus citizens of developing countries are disproportionately impacted by the adverse health affects of exposure to e-waste metals.

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

 

 

In 2019, ~85% of e-waste was exported to developing countries – around 10.7 million tons of waste. The figure above illustrates where e-waste flows to and from. Small scale exports are often sent to countries in West Africa and larger amounts to Southeast/East Asian countries. As a result of waste policy initiatives in 2018, China began refusing to process more e-waste. That said, these restrictions have largely been ignored due to a loophole that enables countries to send their waste to China via Hong Kong.   

 

As tempting as it is to get the newest iPhone every other year, this practice among others are primary drivers of the e-waste problem. Visit the Community tab to learn more about how you can take more personal accountability for your e-waste production. Visit the Get Involved tab to learn how you can help re-direct the flow of e-waste to stop harming citizens of developing countries.