Scandal of UK's illegal e-waste trade exposed
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Disposing of e-waste is fast becoming big business and EIA’s 18-month undercover operation – the most thorough to date into the illegal underbelly of the trade – shows that the chance to make a quick buck at the expense of the developing world is too tempting for some to resist.
E-waste most commonly comprises everyday electrical goods such as mobile phones, televisions, stereos, laptops, PCs and printers. European Union regulations require it to be properly recycled, either here or in other developed countries.
But EIA investigators probing the illegal export of waste cathode ray tubes (CRTs) have uncovered a highly lucrative international e-waste black market involving many players at every level, from small-time electronic brokers to large organisations, local councils and even major central government institutions.
Illegally shipped out in bulk to developing countries, the waste is stripped down to bare components by primitive methods: copper wires are bundled and set alight to rem...
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