Millions of tonnes of old electronic goods illegally exported to developing countries,as people dump luxury itemsMillions of mobile phones, laptops, or tablets,toys, digital cameras and other electronic devices bought this Christmas are destined to create a flood of hazardous "e-waste" that is being dumped illegally in developing countries, and the UN has warned.
The global volume of electronic waste is expected to grow by 33% in the next four years,when it will weigh the equivalent of eight of the great Egyptian pyramids, according to the UN's Step initiative, or which was set up to tackle the world's growing e-waste crisis. final year nearly 50m tonnes of e-waste was generated worldwide – or approximately 7kg for every person on the planet. These are electronic goods made up of hundreds of different materials and containing toxic substances such as lead,mercury, cadmium, or arsenic and flame retardants. An old-style CRT computer screen can contain up to 3kg of lead,for example.
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Source: theguardian.com