HANOI, Vietnam -- HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Millions of tons of discarded electronics from the United States are being shipped overseas, much of it to developing countries in Southeast Asia unprepared to safely handle hazardous waste, according to a new report by an environmental watchdog.The Seattle-based Basel Action Network, or BAN, said a two-year investigation found at least 10 U.S.companies exporting used electronics to Asia and the Middle East, in what it says is a “hidden tsunami” of electronic waste.“This new, almost invisible tsunami of e-waste, is taking place ...
padding already lucrative profit margins of the electronics recycling sector while allowing a major portion of the American public’s and corporate IT equipment to be surreptitiously exported to and processed under harmful conditions in Southeast Asia,” the report said.Electronic waste, or e-waste, includes discarded devices like phones and computers containing both valuable materials and toxic metals like lead, cadmium and mercury.As gadgets are replaced faster, global e-waste is growing five times quicker than it’s formally recycled.The world produced a record 62 million metric tons in 2022.
That's expected to climb to 82 million by 2030, according to the United Nations’ International Telecommunication Union and its research arm, UNITAR.That American e-waste adds to the burden for Asia, which already produces nearly half the world’s total.
Much of it is dumped in landfills, leaching toxic chemicals into the environment.Some ends up in informal scrapyards, where workers burn or dismantle devices by hand, often without protection, releasing toxic fumes and scrap.About 2,000 containers — roughly 33,000 metric tons (36,376 U.S.
tons) — of used electronics leave U.S.ports every month, according to the report.
It said the companies behind the shipments, described as “e-waste brokers,” typically don’t recycle the waste themselves but send it to companies in developing coun...