Electronic Waste Disposal in Developing Countries

E-waste disposal in the developing world is a significant issue that needs to be addressed. Millions of pounds of waste are disposed of each year, and as the world trends towards 5G service in mobile devices, that number will only increase. Due to the consumerist nature of our society, the problem is only perpetuated. Electronic devices contain harmful chemicals and components such as lithium-ion batteries (Tue et al., 2016). When these are disposed of in an unsafe way, it can leach into the soil, surrounding aquatic ecosystems, as well as the air when it is burnt. Incineration is a common method of dealing with this waste. Due to this, the health effects on locals as well as wildlife can be detrimental. Additionally, the value of recycling these devices is not being entirely appreciated (Webster et al., 2018). This is due in part to the increasing complexity of said devices, however, millions every year are not disposed of correctly, whether they end up in landfills or drawers in a house.

One of the more famous names associated with e-waste disposal is Agbobloshie. Agbogbloshie is a large e-waste dumping ground that processes millions of pounds of waste each year. It is home to legal as well as illegal disposal of electronic goods, including vehicles. The site is located in Accra, Ghana. There have been studies that show a significant level of toxic compounds being released into the environment at this site (Tue et al., 2016). The site impacts over 250,000 people. (Webster et al., 2018)

Many computers, phones, wires, phones are stripped down to their bare components. This results in metals and other resources that can be sold, whether it is legal or not. Almost 25% of the metal that is exported from Ghana lands in China (Webster et al., 2018).

A theme that is becoming increasingly apparent is the link between developing countries and e-waste disposal (India Becoming the ‘World’s Dumping Ground’ for e-Waste, 2016). When the majority of e-waste is routinely sent to countries such as Pakistan, India, and Nigeria it is clear that they are sharing an unfair level of responsibility in dealing with such waste. These countries often do not have the resources or regulation to dispose of or process this waste in a safe manner. This results in cheap labor for large industries. However, the health and environmental impacts can be severe for locals. It is very common for waste to be shipped in by the ton and be disassembled by hand. The components of immediate value are often sold, and everything else ends up sitting in a landfill or being incinerated. Incineration emits hazardous components into the environment. Additionally, any component that is left to sit will either stay intact or as mentioned above can risk contaminating local ecosystems such as the soil or aquatic systems. Since this is routinely the case in developing countries, they are impacted disproportionately, further inhibiting their development. Cheap labor and lack of regulations as well as representation perpetuate this problem. The locals have to take the work because it is the only way for them to earn a living.

One of the many issues facing developing countries is the lack of regulation and proper safety protocols. As a result, many places in Africa are implementing “informal” recycling sites. These are simply local level organizations that attempt to dispose of the e-waste that is brought in by larger corporations or other countries. The risks with these sites are as great as any, as there are no standard safety procedures, protections for workers, etc (Orisakwe et al., 2019). This is once again an example of lower-income countries being taken advantage of to allow the developed world to continue with a consumerist “throw-away” culture.

A method called Modified-SIRA that includes 6 hazards to developing nations was used to evaluate the risks posed to Pakistan due to e-waste, how the e-waste gets to Pakistan, as well as how the risks of e-waste recycling affect the population of Pakistan. As with most nations that are tasked with recycling/disposing of e-waste, Pakistan imports the majority of the waste that it processes, rather than producing it itself. The study showed that significant levels of toxins were released into the air due to the burning of electronics (Hameed et al., 2020). The 6 hazards are as follows:

• Air pollution
• Water pollution
• Ineffective plastic procedure
• Hazardous extraction process
• Release of toxic materials and heavy metals
• Health exposure

(Hameed et al., 2020)

Methods such as contained burn units, water filters, personal protective equipment, adequate training of workers, and regular monitoring of toxin levels can all be utilized to reduce the risks above. The issue is often simply that there are no resources, and no guidelines in place to ensure that these are a possibility.

A contributing factor to the growing issue of E-waste is the "throw-away culture that is so common in western societies. This culture is also spreading to countries like India, who is responsible for processing large quantities of waste from other countries. The growing issue is that India is now producing their own significant amounts of waste. As these levels rise, space, resources, and regulations run out making the number of unofficial processing sites increase. This is results in significantly less safe working conditions (ANU, 2016).

One of the most effective solutions would be to stop the issue before it can reach developing countries. Implementing regulation that forces the manufacturers to have a clear plan or procedure on how to process technology that is no longer in use. By ensuring there is a technologically correct and safe way to dispose of these products, health, as well as ecological impacts can be minimized. Additionally, reclamation of some of the materials could prove to be valuable, as many of them are non-renewable resources that otherwise need to be mined. The levels of precious metals in electronics are 50 times greater than that of deposits in the ground. It is common to sell hundreds of old barrels of oil per day in some of the processing sites. If that resource was able to be utilized safely it would significantly reduce the risk posed to the environment and the locals who are impacted by these sites (Webster et al., 2018).