some computers take a horrible journey after they're...

7/11/16, 10:07 AMSome Computers Take A Horrible Journey After They're 'Recycled'

of 15http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/recycle-computer-e-waste_us_57712f58e4b0f168323a0dd9

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Some Computers Take A Horrible Journey After They’re‘Recycled’This isn’t good. 06/27/2016 02:55 pm ET | Updated Jun 28, 2016

Damon Beres Senior Tech Editor, The Huffington Post

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KEN CHRISTENSEN, KCTS/EARTHFIX VIA FLICKR (CC BY 2.0)

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Old computers piled in a junkyard in rural Hong Kong.

A curious thing happens to some gadgets when it’s time for them to die.

Even if you do the right thing and bring them to a recycling center for disposal, they might takea twisted — and dangerous — path to their final resting place. That’s because recyclingcompanies in the United States aren’t obligated to handle electronic waste responsibly, andsome opt to export it to junkyards around the world. Once there, equipment is broken down andharvested of valuable components — a process sometimes handled by undocumented workersat great personal risk.

The Basel Action Network, a nonprofit group fighting against toxic exports, recently unveiledresearch detailing how this happens. Until the law changes in the United States, your options forresponsible electronics disposal are severely limited.

Here’s what can happen to your old gear today:

Ken Christensen, KCTS/EarthFix via Flicker (CC BY 2.0)

You’ve decided it’s time to get rid of your old computer equipment — a monitor, laptop, smartphone, keyboard, whatever.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/reclaim/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/recycling-ipad-iphone_us_573f5396e4b0613b512a3536

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/hong-kong-e-waste-junkyards_us_576d6b88e4b017b379f5d115

http://www.ban.org/news/2016/5/9/goodwill-and-dell-inc-exposed-as-exporters-of-us-publics-toxic-electronic-waste-to-developing-countries


https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/



Katie Campbell, KCTS/EarthFix via Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

You’ll probably want to bring that gear to a recycling company. Here, a woman drops off old hardware at Interconnection, arecycler in Seattle.

http://www.ban.org/news/2016/6/20/watchdog-tracker-data-implicates-more-washington-state-recyclers-exporting-the-publics-toxic-electronic-waste-to-china




The Basel Action Network, an American nonprofit dedicated to reducing the export of toxic waste, decided to track what canactually happen to gear once it gets dropped off at a recycling facility.




They took battery-powered GPS tracking devices...



Ken Christensen, KCTS/EarthFix via Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

...and installed them within old computer equipment that was meant to be recycled. Then, they dropped off the equipment at anumber of facilities across the U.S.

Ken Christensen, KCTS/EarthFix via Flicker (CC BY 2.0)

Jim Puckett, head of the Basel Action Network, tracks the whereabouts of the hardware.

https://s3.amazonaws.com/ban-reports/Trash+Transparency/Disconnect+-+Goodwill+and+Dell+Exporting+the+Publics+E-waste+to+Developing+Countries+Report+-+Web+Version.pdf

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/



MIT Senseable City Lab

The Basel Action Network found that when you drop equipment off at U.S. recyclers, if often ends up being exportedelsewhere. The nonprofit partnered with the MIT Senseable City Lab to create an interactive map tool showing how thishappens.

http://senseable.mit.edu/monitour/




MIT Senseable City Lab

Computer screens from Wapakoneta, Ohio, wound up in Hong Kong, where undocumented workers smash apart equipment indangerous environments.






Most countries abide by a treaty known as the Basel Convention when exporting toxic e-waste, requiring them to seekpermission from the importing country’s government. The United States hasn’t ratified the Basel Convention, so “recyclers”can ship equipment overseas without consequence to their business.

http://www.basel.int/




This is a junkyard in rural Hong Kong.



Katie Campbell, EarthFix/KCTS via Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

Laborers dismantle equipment here in hopes of reselling valuable components. It’s not safe work.


The Basel Action Network identified old, dismantled printers at this site. Material found in printer toner can contribute tocancer risk.

http://smallbusiness.chron.com/dangers-toner-ink-exposure-55298.html




Here are white tubes from LCD screens. These contain mercury, which is liable to cause all sorts of severe health problems.

https://www.epa.gov/mercury/health-effects-exposures-mercury

some computers take a horrible journey after they're...

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