China's E-Waste Nightmare Worsening

Many of us have been morally outraged at China's industry during the past months for using lead paint and other contaminants on our children's toys.  We've pointed indignant fingers at the country's heavy pollution and judged the government to be uncaring and ineffective in trying to make improvements.  This AP story shows another dimension of the situation.  E-Waste.  And a lot of it is ours.

[/q]By CHRISTOPHER BODEEN Associated Press Writer
GUIYU, China Nov 18, 2007 (AP)

The air smells acrid from the squat gas burners that sit outside homes, melting wires to recover copper and cooking computer motherboards to release gold. Migrant workers in filthy clothes smash picture tubes by hand to recover glass and electronic parts, releasing as much as 6.5 pounds of lead dust.
 
For five years, environmentalists and the media have highlighted the danger to Chinese workers who dismantle much of the world's junked electronics. Yet a visit to this southeastern Chinese town regarded as the heartland of "e-waste" disposal shows little has improved. In fact, the problem is growing worse because of China's own contribution.
     
China now produces more than 1 million tons of e-waste each year, said Jamie Choi, a toxics campaigner with Greenpeace China in Beijing. That adds up to roughly 5 million television sets, 4 million fridges, 5 million washing machines, 10 million mobile phones and 5 million personal computers, according to Choi.
 
"Most e-waste in China comes from overseas, but the amount of domestic e-waste is on the rise," he said.
 
This ugly business is driven by pure economics. For the West, where safety rules drive up the cost of disposal, it's as much as 10 times cheaper to export the waste to developing countries. In China, poor migrants from the countryside willingly endure the health risks to earn a few yuan, exploited by profit-hungry entrepreneurs.
 
International agreements and European regulations have made a dent in the export of old electronics to China, but loopholes and sometimes bribes allow many to skirt the requirements. And only a sliver of the electronics sold get returned to manufacturers such as Dell and Hewlett Packard for safe recycling.[/q]

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