Photos like these (check out the accompanying multimedia presentation) make me rethink my entire career as tech journalist. This is a mess. In Guiyu, China, the electronics recycling industry has destroyed the ground water and lead poisoning is effecting young children due to the overall mess created by this lucrative sweatshop industry. Money is money, however, and we should start talking with our wallets to the fools and damn fools who churn out piece after piece of quickly obsolete electronics. I don’t know the answer to this problem, friends, but fully recyclable electronics is definitely a start.
There is an excellent greek documentary on this issue. Unfortunately is in greek but you can see more images in the video Here is the link http://exandas.ert.gr/psifiaka-nekrotafeia/eisagogi/index.php In case akismet or smth blocks the link if you know any greek speaking ask him to find the video at exandas dot ert dot gr
The answer is for more companies to consider buying pre-owned for a change.
Buying pre-owned doesn’t mean buying an out of date product – there are plenty of Core-2 Duo’s out there that could be bought pre-owned or refurbished instead of new, saving both money and the amount of e-waste created. You can make electronics more recyclable for sure, but this only dents the problem – in any case, the pictures above shows recycling taking place.
Here’s my blog on the issue:
http://www.trade2save.com/blog/2008/03/19/is-greenpeace
“the pictures above shows recycling taking place”……what a load of BS, recycling is good but at the cost of human lives every second those Chinese men,women and children are burning circuitry boards, wires and cathode ray tubes they are releasing high doses of lead and harmful dioxins into the air which they breath in and can cause cancer, with the pollution it’s making the rivers (main source of water and possibly food) more acidic and lead contaminated
this is basically a living Chernobly
How long will it take before people stop repeating the lie that the public can “vote with its wallet”. People at crunchgear should know that often only one company makes the right product, what do you do if they are not “green”.
Businesses buy a lot of computers and smart phones, but if the corporate officers take any additional expense to buy “green”, then they can be sued by stock holders.
Governments can change these things, but our government (USA) does not.
Our major parties politics are all about dividing people and hitting hot-button issues. Are your really “pro-life” if you are willing to let so many children grow up in a toxic dump?
A policy that corrected these problems would cost money, but “voting with your dollars” strategies don’t work — and they punish people who care.
The movie/documentary “Manufactured Landscapes” (2006) has a small, but poignant piece on China’s e-waste recycling. It’s the same story (with more visuals), but just as heartbreaking.
I don’t think you should rethink your career as a tech journalist. I don’t see any rational reason why electronics can’t be recycled (including burning the plastics for energy) in a manner that’s both profitable and protective of the environment.
These photos seem to show tremendous inefficiency and waste. There’s no reason a guy should be crouching in the road working on removing parts from circuit boards. Even if it’s done by humans, it should all be done at desks, and with vented hoods to capture and treat any air emissions.
CBS 60 Minutes aired this story in a 14 minute segment on 10 Nov 2008
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=4586903n
I am wondering if anyone knows exactly how the trade or funding of the green recycling works and how the workers are paid and by who exactly. There is a lot of specialized particular things that people need however if there are any ways to obtain these things either by used tech stores or employing an unemployed engineer or if anyone knows of any sites of buisnesses like this it would be cool to see whats out there and the affordability of dealing directly through a smaller company, rather than creating more waste. ANY LINKS>>?
this is ridiculous!!! i can’t beleive the u.s is letting this happen and china! e-waste recycling facilities should re-use the plastic and everything and not jeprodize millions of lives!
yo dis shiet is wacked out my nacka
I work for a computer recycler out of Houston, Texas. (www.compucycle.net)
We are truly green and process electronics in the correct manner. If your recycler a) hesitates to let you tour their facility or b) takes your electronics (especially CRT monitors!) for free, you can bet they are exporting.
We also refurbish electronics for resale (with warranties) if anyone’s looking to buy a recycled computer.
i want to buy working computers
im in india plz give me rates of products
regards
As a grade 11 student in Canada I am currently learning about this in socials. It’s truly dissapointing to know that my country contributes to this with no other thought then if it happens in a different country its not our problem. The promotion of E-waste in China is supported by both Canada and the USA, who both know whats happening to the rivers in China but do nothing. Its a terrible thing when a 16 year old student holds more logic and a sense of wrong-doing then Canada’s not so active leaders.